When It Rains
by fallinrain
Summary: Discontinued due to loss of interest in writing it. May be picked up again at some point though I wouldn't bet on it.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

**Author's note: I gave this story a rating of M to be safe, though T probably would've worked. I was introduced to Wicked first through the soundtrack - which I got about a year ago - and later the book. I finally got to see Wicked a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing! This is the first Wicked fanfic I've ever done and though I've seen a couple on here with similiar stories, I hope mine will be unique. I know that Elphaba is going to seem out of character to a lot of people. That was intentional. I'd love to know what everyone thinks of it. Constructive criticism is cool, but please no flames. I'm definitely open to suggestion though, especially when it comes to names. I have a few new characters who will enter the story later on and am having a tough time picking names for them. This story takes place after the Lion cub incident. For the purposes of this story, when Madame Morrible offers Elphaba the chance to see the Wizard, Elphaba doesn't accept it right away but has decided to think about it. This is more of an issue later on, but just wanted to clear that up before you got started with the story. Hope you like it!**

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Rainy days were the worst – especially when you were stuck in a boring old classroom listening to some boring teacher talk about things that were just boring. At least that was what had been going through Fiyero Tiggular's mind as he tried to concentrate. It had been raining all day and rainy days had a tendency to make his mind wander. He would much rather have been back in his room sleeping than sitting here trying to be interested. He gave up trying to pay attention to the lesson and instead turned his attention on his fellow classmates. To his left sat his ever so perky and usually pink wearing girlfriend, Galinda – or rather Glinda now that she had changed her name in support of Doctor Dillamond after he had been fired. At the moment, she sat there with her sparkly pink pen doodling on her pink notebook obviously having trouble paying attention as well. He and Glinda had started dating pretty soon after he arrived at Shiz – but why? He pondered that question in his head. She was the most popular girl in school, he was the most popular guy – it just seemed natural that they would be a couple. And in the beginning it had been great – after all she was a nice girl, definitely one of the prettiest girls in school, and smarter than she let on. She was fun to be around and he usually found himself being entertained by all her antics, but lately he had been feeling a bit, well, discontent about the relationship. He cared about her, yes, but if he were to be honest with himself he wasn't so sure it was as anything more than a friend. A movement to his right caught his attention and he found another classmate, the studious Munchkin boy Boq leaning over to pick up his pen.

As odd as it may seem, Fiyero had actually struck up a friendship with the Munchkin boy. Boq definitely wasn't all that popular – after all, the guy actually paid attention in class and did all his assignments – on time at that. He was probably one of the smarter guys at the university. Fiyero on the other hand was not exactly known for his brain power and was expected to hang out with the popular crowd. But somehow the two had become friends, which made for awkward situations sometimes as Boq was clearly in love with Fiyero's girlfriend. Just now Boq was eyeing Glinda was open admiration as she doodled yet another section of hearts on her notebook. She could probably ask him for the moon and he'd stumble over himself to get it. What made the situation more complex was that Boq had been sort of pushed into a relationship with Nessarose Thropp after Glinda had convinced him to ask her out. He shook his head at the absurdity of it all and turned his focus to Nessarose.

Nessarose – or Nessa as she was called – was a girl most people considered tragically beautiful. She lived her life confined in a wheelchair and was doted on constantly by her father. Nessa was a bit of a strange girl, a little quiet at times. She had been thrilled when Boq had asked her to the Ozdust ballroom that night, unaware that he had only asked her because Glinda wanted him to. She was completely taken with the Munchkin boy and Boq had stayed with her because he couldn't bring himself to break up with a girl in a wheelchair. Nessa was so fragile in a lot of ways and Boq feared that she would just shatter if he left her.

"Now who can answer the question? Mr. Tiggular?" the teacher's curt voice broke into Fiyero's ponderings.

'_Great_.' Fiyero thought to himself. He had been so focused on his other classmates that he hadn't even heard the question and for that matter, had no idea what they were even talking about.

"Well I think the answer is fairly obvious Professor." He said, stalling for time. "If one just simply looks at the problem, the answer just about jumps out at you."

"Would you care to enlighten us?" the teacher said, clearly not fooled by Fiyero's stalling.

"I...well..." Fiyero started.

"Do you even know what we are discussing, Mr. Tiggular?" the teacher interrupted.

"I...no." Fiyero mumbled.

"In the future, I would appreciate if you could put however many brain cells you have into focusing on the lesson. Maybe then your grades wouldn't be so, well, dismal. Can someone please clue Mr. Tiggular in to the issue as to what we have been talking about?" The teacher asked.

"Don't worry darlingest, I wasn't paying attention either." Glinda whispered to him.

"Imagine my shock at that." Fiyero muttered.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Nothing, dear." he smiled at her.

"I believe I can do that Professor." Another voice cut in. Fiyero then turned his attention to the girl who had spoken. Elphaba Thropp. Sister to Nessarose, roommate to Glinda. Now here was a girl worth pondering, he thought. Elphaba was almost the exact opposite of her sister. Where her sister was timid and insecure, Elphaba was never afraid to voice her opinion – as unpopular as that opinion might be. Elphaba was regarded by her classmates as a discusticified freak who also happened to be a know-it-all in the classroom. Elphaba always paid strict attention in class and her grades were consistently fantastic – a constant source of annoyance to her classmates. And Elphaba did have another thing that set her apart from the rest of the school. From the world, really. Elphaba's skin was a very interesting shade of green. With long, silky dark hair and dark eyes she was definitely exotic. Her classmates saw that as a reason to ridicule her but Fiyero thought she was actually quite beautiful in her own way. He had recently gotten to see another side to the green skinned girl the day that Doctor Dillamond had been fired.

The new teacher had brought in a Lion cub in a cage and Fiyero and Elphaba had rescued it. She had been so worried about the cub, so outraged at its being stuck in that awful cage. She cared deeply – maybe even too much. Fiyero thought back to the day with a sigh. Maybe she was the reason why he was questioning his relationship with Glinda. Something had happened between Fiyero and Elphaba that day when she had grabbed for his hand. Her hand had been soft, surprisingly so. And later their eyes had met and if he didn't know better he would've sworn that the air between them had actually sparked with electricity. The feeling had scared him and he had used the cub as an excuse to flee. Sometimes he found himself wondering what might have happened if he had stayed.

'_Wonder what it'd be like to date a girl like her'_ he thought to himself and instantly pushed it out of his mind. Where had that thought even come from? Yes, Elphaba was interesting and passionate, smart and strong – but guys like Fiyero didn't date girls like that. Did they? He watched her while she explained what they had been discussing, not hearing a word of it. She must have felt him watching her because when she finished, she immediately looked over her shoulder and looked at him. She raised her eyebrow and he gave her what he thought was a charming smile. She merely rolled her eyes and turned back to the front of the classroom. His smile turned into a scowl. All of the other girls at Shiz fought desperately for his attention and usually would erupt into massive giggles when he'd give them that smile. Elphaba however was not impressed – not even the slightest bit. Her attitude towards him had changed since the Lion cub incident but he doubted she considered him a friend. After all, she considered him stupid – stupid, but not really stupid, he recalled with a chuckle.

From her spot in the classroom, Elphaba was doing some pondering of her own. Why in the world had Fiyero been looking at her like that? She had felt someone watching her and something in her had known instantly that it was him. She couldn't figure out her feelings for the prince. He was good-looking, sure, with an easy-going charm and she had originally thought he was superficial and shallow. Now she wasn't so sure. He had helped her that day with the Lion cub – no one else seemed to care, in fact they all seemed to be intrigued by it. None of them had lifted a finger to help her but he had jumped in almost instantly, grabbing the cage and running out of the room. He still insisted that he was indeed superficial and shallow, no deeply shallow, she thought with a smirk. She remembered how it had felt when she had grabbed for his hand and sighed. He was about to storm off, but she had stopped him. She had not been expecting what it had felt like when she grabbed for it. Her hand had felt oddly right in his hand and there had been a wave of heat that had flooded through her. Ever since that point he was in her thoughts more than she cared for him to be. Surely she was not developing a crush on the prince. Elphaba didn't do crushes. She had no interest in love, or rather no real belief that it even existed. And besides even if it did, he was dating her roommate. Still...there was something about the prince. She quickly collected her things as soon as class was dismissed, prepared to go to the library to study. From behind her she heard Glinda's excited squeal.

"It's finally Friday! We get two days without classes!" she exclaimed. Elphaba rolled her eyes as she suppressed a smile. After the dance, she had actually come to regard Glinda as a friend but sometimes she was entirely too perky. She looked over and Glinda was literally hopping up and down in excitement. "We should do something to celebrate!" Glinda cried.

"It's just a Friday, darling, we have one every week." Fiyero teased her.

"Yes, but this week has been so horrendously horrible! I want to have some fun!" Glinda said. "Come on guys!"

"I think some fun would be nice." Boq said quickly. Elphaba held back a snort.

'_I bet you do'_ Elphaba thought. '_you just want to hang out with Glinda_.'

Glinda let out another squeal of delight. "That's one! Come on Fiyero! Please? Pretty please?"

"Now when have I ever turned down a chance to have fun?" Fiyero said with a grin as he hooked an arm around her shoulders. Elphaba tried to sneak her way to the door, hoping to avoid being included. It wasn't that she didn't want to hang out with everyone, she just had so much work to do – she really needed to get to the library.

"Elphie?" Glinda asked.

'Damn.' Elphaba thought to herself. "I have a lot of work to do," she started.

"Oh please Elphaba? It sounds fun." This time the request came from Nessa, who was more than willing to partake in any activity that her dear Boq was doing.

"Please? Will you, will you will you???? Come on, please!" Glinda pleaded.

"I'd like to but –" Elphaba started again.

"Alright compromise." Fiyero cut in. "Elphaba, go to the library now and meet us at the pub in about an hour."

"Two hours." Elphaba said, resigning herself to the fact that Glinda's urgings were only going to get more persistent.

"One hour." Fiyero repeated. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"An hour and a half." She said.

"One hour." Fiyero said for a third time. "Come on, you spend all your time at that old place. I'm sure your studies will not suffer if you only get in one hour tonight. You can spend the day there tomorrow, if you must, but you're meeting us in one hour."

"Or what?" she challenged. He smirked.

"Or I'll walk over there and carry you out myself." He said.

"You don't even know where the library is." She shot back.

"I do so. It's three buildings over, the crumbly gray one with the big sign that says Library on the front of it." He countered. "Don't make me come get you."

"You wouldn't dare." She said. When he merely grinned at her, she raised her eyebrow. "You wouldn't..."

"One hour." He repeated, leading the others out of the room. He looked back and winked before continuing on. Elphaba couldn't resist sticking her tongue out at him behind his back. She grabbed her bag and headed out the door.

"Carry me out...he tries that, he's a dead man." She muttered to herself as she hurried through the rain to get to the library. As she reached the doors of the building, she was overcome with a terrible sense of foreboding. Maybe she should've gone with them. She quickly dismissed the thought as she found a table. She was just being silly, after all what could possibly happen at the library? She set about finding some books and sat down to begin her studying.

_One hour later_

"Well it's been an hour and she's not here." Glinda said. She was seated at a booth at their favorite pub between Boq and Fiyero with Nessa pulled up across from her.

"You gonna go get her?" Boq asked Fiyero.

"I said I was didn't I?" Fiyero said, getting up.

"Oh darling, you're not really going to carry her out of there are you?" Glinda asked.

"Hey what good's a threat if I don't follow through with it. I'll be right back." Fiyero gave them a grin and left the pub.

"Oh I'd love to be there for that." Boq laughed.

"She's going to try to kill him if he actually attempts it!" Nessa said, her eyes sparkling.

"Oh he'll attempt it, I know." Boq said. "I just hope he comes back in one piece."

"Oh dear Oz, please bring my boyfriend and my roommate back with no harm done to either." Glinda kidded.

Fiyero made his way back to campus – the pub was only two blocks away. Which was a good thing for him as it was still raining. He thought he was going to enjoy hauling Elphaba out of the library. He did warn her after all, what would happen. He glanced up at the gray sky. '_What a dreary day this has been'_ he thought to himself as the library came into view. He was about to about to go up the steps but a strange sound made him stop. "Hello? Is someone there?" he called. He waited and heard the sound again. It almost sounded as if an animal was stuck somehow or worse, hurt. He followed the sound and nearly tripped over something. "What the – " he looked down and saw that the object he had tripped over was a bag. A very familiar bag. It looked like Elphaba's bag. He frowned. Something wasn't right here. Why her bag out here and where was was she? He called out again. "Hello? If anyone's out there, I'm not going to hurt you." He took a few more steps and thought he detected some movement in the bushes. He carefully moved past them and gasped. To his great shock, Elphaba lay in a heap on the ground. Her clothes were torn and ripped in several places and she had several cuts and scrapes along her arms and on her face. "Elphaba?" he squatted down next to her. He noticed a big gash on the side of her head. His sense of alarm grew. It looked like she had been knocked out somehow and was starting to come to. But what had happened to her?

"Elphaba, come on sweetie, wake up." He urged. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and it looked like she was having a hard time focusing. "Elphaba, are you alright? What happened?" he asked. She looked at him and blinked a few times as if trying to will her eyesight to get back to normal.

"My head..." she mumbled. "It hurts."

"We need to get you to a doctor. Can you sit up?" he reached for her and she jerked back.

"Don't hurt me." She said softly. Fiyero was instantly puzzled. He had never known Elphaba to be scared of anything – well maybe her strange powers, but never another person. But who? And how? He pushed his questions aside for the time being. Right now he had to help her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews so far! I think I tightened some grammer stuff up in this chapter and hopefully it'll flow better. I know it's unlikely that a hospital would be so close to the school but it seemed easier to make it that way to keep the story going. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter.**

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"Elphaba, it's me. Fiyero. I'm not going to hurt you," he said gently.

"Fiyero," she repeated, letting that sink in. "It's so cold...Fiyero, it hurts." Her eyes flickered and for a second he was worried she might pass out again, but she seemed to steady herself.

"Elphaba, I want to help you but you have to help me. Okay?" he said softly. "Can you move at all?"

"Everything hurts..." she muttered again, but thankfully seemed to be coming around a little more.

"I know honey, try to sit up...nice and slow," he said. He reached for her again and she flinched, but then grabbed his arm. She tried to sit up and instantly hissed in pain. She steadied herself and gently eased herself up in a sitting position with his help. He took off his coat and draped it around her shoulders. "Come on, let's get you some help."

Without warning her eyes widened and she looked around them in fear. "Are they gone?"

"Is who gone?" Fiyero asked, confused. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure...I left the library and then someone grabbed me...I tried to get away but I couldn't...and one of them...he..." to Fiyero's great surprise and horror, she burst into tears. "He hurt me...I couldn't do anything...and he muttered some sort of weird spell and everything went a little hazy...it was like I was drugged...and they hurt me..." she managed to get out between sobs. He started to put his arms around her but she jerked back. "Don't!"

"Elphaba..." Fiyero was at a loss. He had never seen her like this – she was absolutely terrified and most likely in a state of shock. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise...no one else is around, it's just you and me. Honey, you need to see a doctor and I think I may have to carry you...you can trust me." He carefully put his hand on top of hers.

"I...I know," she whispered. "I'm so scared...it hurts a lot."

Fiyero gently wiped away some of her tears. "I know...I'm so sorry." He eased her arm around his neck and very carefully picked her up, wincing when she let out a cry of pain. "I'm sorry..." he repeated. A sudden sound in the distance made her tighten her grip on him. "I've got you...you're safe now," he said soothingly. Fiyero weighed the options in his head and figured he could get her to the hospital faster if he just walked. It was only a few blocks away and Oz only knew how long it could take for them to get transportation. He walked at as brisk a pace as he could manage without jostling her too much. When they finally reached the hospital, Fiyero was convinced he had never been happier to see a building in his life.

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Fiyero sat in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting impatiently for any kind of news about Elphaba. He had been with her in the examination room for some of the exam and then the doctor, a woman, had asked if he could step outside so she could finish out the exam. He hadn't wanted to leave Elphaba, but the doctor explained that they were entering a very delicate part of the examination and it'd probably be easier if he wasn't in the room. So Fiyero had looked at Elphaba who had nodded that it was okay if he left, in fact she had even looked relieved. Fiyero had pondered what on Oz they could be doing and then it hit him. The torn clothes, her not wanting to be touched – he prayed with all his being that he might be wrong but he had a sinking feeling in his stomach that he wasn't. And if he wasn't, that meant that the situation was far worse than he had originally feared. Now it had been a while and he was anxious to see how she was doing. The clock on the wall told him it hadn't really been all that much time, but it had felt like a century. Finally a nurse with kind eyes came out and told him that he could go back and see her if he wished. He jumped to his feet and followed her to Elphaba's room. Before entering, the nurse stopped and grabbed his arm.

"She's been through a terrible ordeal, the poor dear. She's still pretty scared, so please do your best to keep her calm," the nurse said softly, her eyes full of compassion.

"What...what do they think happened to her?" he asked, needing to know if his suspicions were correct. She avoided his gaze for a minute.

"When she was attacked...well..." the nurse started.

"She was raped wasn't she?" Fiyero asked quietly.

"I...I'm afraid so. She's terribly shaken up about the whole thing, as I'm sure you can understand," the nurse confirmed. He closed his eyes briefly.

"How's her head?" he wanted to know. "There was so much blood..."

"She has a bit of a concussion, but really, it was a lot worse than it looked. It may take some time but it should heal nicely. It was lucky that you got there when you did," she said gently. He nodded and she turned and led the way into the room.

"Elphaba?" the nurse spoke up softly. Elphaba was lying in the hospital bed with the blanket pulled up tightly around her. "I brought you friend back to keep you company like you wanted. Is there anyone else you want us to contact for you?"

"My sister...and my roommate," she answered.

"Alright, I'll let them know you're here," the nurse said. She paused and stepped up to the bed, putting her hand briefly on Elphaba's forehead. "You're safe here, honey. We're going to take good care of you."

"Thank you," Elphaba whispered. The nurse gave her, and then Fiyero, a kind smile and then left the room. Fiyero stood there awkwardly for a few seconds and then sat on the chair next to her bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"It still hurts. Not as bad though," she answered. She was silent for a minute and then spoke up, so softly he could barely hear her. "Fiyero?"

"Yes?" he said.

"Thank you. If you hadn't of come when you did –" she started but was overcome by tears.

"Oh sweetie," he sighed. "I...I wish I had gotten there sooner." He gently took her hand in his and used his other one to gently brush the hair from her face.

"I'm sorry...I never cry like this but I just can't stop," she sniffled. "I hate crying."

"Don't apologize. It's okay to cry, Elphie, you don't have to be strong all the time," he said.

"Oh but I do," she argued weakly.

"No. You just think you do," he corrected. "It's okay to be upset; it's okay to cry – especially after what happened. You're only human after all."

"Oh Fiyero. I was so scared! I couldn't even defend myself!" she cried.

"Sssh. Everything's okay now," he murmured.

"What would've happened to me if you didn't come looking for me?" she asked, looking so much like a lost little girl that he wanted to cry himself.

"I don't even want to think about that. The important thing is that I did go and look for you and now you're here and you're safe." He offered her what he hoped was an encouraging smile.

"Why'd you even come anyway?" she wanted to know.

"You were supposed to meet us in an hour. If you didn't I was going to walk over and carry you out," he reminded her.

"You were actually going to do it?" she asked.

"Of course. I guess it's lucky for you that I follow through with my threats," he said, hoping to lighten the mood. To his great relief, she smiled. A very small one, but it was something.

"I'm really tired," she yawned after a few seconds.

"Get some sleep," he suggested.

"You won't leave will you?" she said, the fear coming back in her eyes at the thought of being alone.

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised. "Sssh now, you need your rest."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: yup, still own nothing. **

**Author's Note: I had this chapter up but had to delete it since there were some things that had to be edited some more. Anyway, the only reason these have gone up so fast is just because I've had them written for a little while and saw no reason not to just get them up. Now. I do realize that when everyone read this story, the first reaction may have been "oh geez, not another story where Elphaba gets attacked". I know it's been done and no, I didn't do it because it's a popular** **storyline. This is actually not a story about her being raped though it is certainly a factor. The issue isn't so much _that_ she was raped, it's _why_ she was. The rape is pretty much just a plot point to set up a bigger story. Give it a chance and see what happens. If it ends up stinking, well...oh well. I'm hoping that it will end up being unique in its own way. If nothing else, I hope it makes for a good read. **

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Elphaba slowly woke up, initially confused as to where she was. Then in a moment all too soon, the memories came rushing back. She had left the library in a huff, annoyed to have to leave her studies but somehow knowing that Fiyero would follow through on his word, when someone had stopped her. Next thing she knew she was being dragged to the side of the building. She had fought, but it had been useless. He had been so strong and she had been too scared. He had hit her a few times and then slammed her against the building where she had hit her head. After that it had been easier for him. The blood loss had made her dizzy and weak. And then he had committed one of the worst acts humanly possible, and in the process had robbed her of her dignity and pride. She had become something she always said she would never be: a victim. Thinking about it all brought tears of anger and shame to her eyes. She let out a humorless chuckle as she recalled that it had been raining. How fitting that had been. 

Elphaba had always hated the rain; it was no secret to those who knew her. She had heard rumors about how water could burn or melt her. Some said that maybe she had an allergy. If they only knew. It wasn't that water could physically hurt her in any way; she certainly was not allergic to it. No, the problem went deeper than that. It just so happened that most, if not all, of the worst experiences of her life had happened when it rained. She supposed it should have been an odd sort of omen that she had been born on a rainy day, as her mother had told her when she was a little girl. Her life had not gotten off to a great start; after all no one ever hoped for a green child, especially not her father.

She had never been close to her father; all of her earliest memories were with her beloved mother. Her mother loved her daughter, plain and simple, and just did not care about her skin color. Her father had been so obsessed with not having another green child that he had forced her mother to eat those milk flowers. As a result Nessa had been born with a deformity that left her unable to walk and it had cost her mother her very life. It had rained the day Nessa was born, too.

The death of her mother had affected the family in ways they had never recovered from. Nessa grew up never knowing her mother. Elphaba remembered her and missed her terribly, as did her father. Her father had turned his sorrow and anger at losing his wife at his oldest daughter. Frex had always resented how much Melena had loved Elphaba – Elphaba had been first, with him as a distant second. He had tolerated it while Melena still lived, but couldn't do so after she had died. And he had always blamed Elphaba for her mother's death because if she hadn't of been green, he wouldn't have made Melena eat those flowers - it was all Elphaba's fault.

The abuse had started shortly after Melena's death. Elphaba had been in her room crying about her mother and Frex had gotten angry. He had started screaming at her and his anger had only built. Elphaba could still remember how that first slap hurt. Frex had been shocked – he had never meant to physically hurt his daughter, at least not that time, and had immediately left the room. It had been raining then as well.

As Elphaba got older, her father had lavished all his love on his precious Nessarose and the abuse towards Elphaba had continued. It wasn't all the time and he never did it to where it was overly noticeable. He was an elected official after all; he couldn't be portrayed as a child abuser for Oz's sake. The abuse always seemed to happen on days where it rained. See, Frex hated those days as well. They reminded him of the day his curse of a green daughter had come into his life and of the day he had lost his wife because of said daughter. He tended to drink whenever it rained. In addition to hitting his child at times, he was also an alcoholic though he managed to hide it from the public. Even Nessa was not aware of her father's problems, Elphaba had always kept the truth from her as a way to protect her. Nessa adored their father and Elphaba didn't want to tarnish his reputation in her eyes - after all Frex did sincerely love his Nessarose. Besides the punishment for telling her would most likely have been a severe one. Elphaba soon learned to avoid her father on those days and had figured out that tears only made him angrier. She had no right to cry, as she had brought it on herself. That's what her father told her anyway.

Elphaba shook her head and forced the memories of the past to go back in the past where they belonged. Yes, those were the reasons why she hated the rain and now she had another event to associate with it. Sweet Oz, how she hated the damned rain.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Author's Note: I'm not too happy with this chapter. But I'm tired of fiddling with it and wanted to get it up. This one jumps to a couple of weeks after the attack, which you'll see in the first line. I didn't see any point it really going into a ton of details about what went on during those weeks, especially since it's not too important to the story. Basically this chapter is pretty much a filler chapter to get to the next point. Please keep the reviews coming - right now I'm in need of some suggestions for names of new characters - males in particular. So if you have any, please let me know. Thanks!**

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The next couple of weeks were difficult for Elphaba. She had had to stay in the hospital for a few more days, because of her head. Her friends had kept her company most of the time, only leaving if Elphaba wanted to be alone. She was grateful for the company, but sometimes she just needed to think. She seemed to be overcome by various emotions, all of which threatened to choke her if she wasn't careful. Her body had hurt so much that first week, but was improving. She still hurt but it had definitely eased some. 

It had been so wonderful to get out of the hospital, though a part of her feared going back to Shiz – back to where it happened. Madam Morrible had stopped by her dorm room and had gone on and on about how horrified she was that something so terrible had happened on her campus. She had apologized and offered her help to Elphaba in whatever way it was needed – most oddly about the whole thing, she had seemed completely sincere. Elphaba could only assume that she was worried about the school looking bad, surely she couldn't really be concerned for Elphaba herself. But she had appreciated the headmistress making a point to stop by.

Elphaba let out a sigh as she lay in her bed. After a week or so of constant fussing by her friends, she had repeatedly tried to insist that she was healing – not just physically but emotionally. She knew that they were not convinced at all, but she had to try. It was bad enough that she was still scared and felt helpless; she didn't need her friends to be all worried about her. The worst was Nessa. She constantly asked how Elphaba was doing, how she was feeling, was she sleeping, was she eating enough? Elphaba knew her sister meant well, but there was never an end to it and at times could be annoying. Where as Nessa couldn't stop talking about it, Boq was uncomfortable even mentioning it, so he avoided the topic all together. Instead, he helped by supplying Elphaba with the notes from the classes she was missing. There wasn't anyone else she would've trusted with the task – Boq took careful, detailed notes and she knew they would be a big help to her.

At first it had been weird talking to Glinda about it, but Elphaba had to admit that it was getting easier. Only Glinda knew that she barely slept at night due to the horrible nightmares she had been getting since her attack. It seemed like every time she closed her eyes, she could see her attacker again, could feel him, and smell him. The dreams were so vivid she could've sworn it was happening all over again. Most of the time she forced herself to stay awake until she had passed the point of exhaustion – only then did she even attempt to sleep. The trouble with this was that she could stay up for quite a long time and when she did manage to sleep it was never for long. Glinda helped her camouflage the effects of her lack of sleep and had promised, although rather reluctantly, not to let anyone know how badly she was doing. Glinda was proving herself to be a very good friend.

And then there was Fiyero. He had been so sweet to her, always seeming to know whether to ask how she was doing or keep his mouth shut. He would come over just to chat and Elphaba had to admit that she felt safer when he was around. Not that she would ever tell him that. Her thoughts of the prince seemed to come more frequently than they had before. First the Lion cub, then he had come to her rescue and gotten her to the hospital; and when she woke up the day after her attack, her hand had still been in his. He had slept bent over in his chair, honoring his promise not to leave her. Elphaba had been so touched that he had cared enough to stay with her, but hadn't been able to tell him so. Like it or not, it seemed that she was falling for him. A thought that terrified her for a few reasons. One, there was still the issue of her not really believing love existed. Two, he was still Glinda's boyfriend. Three, she couldn't imagine being in a relationship, especially since her attack. She felt used and violated, dirty and broken. She wasn't sure anyone would even want her and even if they did, she wasn't so sure she would ever be able to be intimate with them. And it wasn't just about sex. She wasn't sure she could get close to a man in any way after what happened. No, she must put any developing feelings for Fiyero aside. There was no use dwelling on something she couldn't have.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Well if I owned any of this, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction now would I?**

**Author's Note: Time to lighten things up a little bit, at least at first. I thought it was time that Glinda and Fiyero had a little chat about their relationship. And this chapter also answers a question - just why did Glinda start to travel by bubble? It's a little silly and maybe they're both a little out of character. Hopefully it's entertaining. I'm also adding a bit of a twist in this chapter that will (hopefully) be intriguing. Make you wonder exactly who these people are and what's their big plan anyway? Warning: this chapter is pretty long. At first it was just the silly/serious at parts conversation between Glinda and Fiyero. And I knew how I was going to start the next chapter, which will follow Fiyero after he leaves Glinda. I had the idea in my mind for the second scene in this chapter and figured that it didn't really fit in the next and I didn't want to put off introducing these characters for much longer, so I threw it at the end of this one. To everyone who's been reading so far, thank you so much. The reviews are a big help and encouragement, so please keep 'em coming. Hope you guys like this chapter.**

* * *

Glinda was sitting in the library studying Fiyero. She had seen the way her boyfriend had been acting around Elphaba lately and suspected that he was in love with her. And to her great surprise, found that she wasn't too upset about it. She had been thinking about their relationship lately – she had done a lot more thinking in general since Elphaba's attack – and didn't think her feelings for him were as strong as she thought they had been. 

"Fiyero," she said. He looked up from the book he was trying to read. "Do you love me?"

"Well sure I do, Glinda," he said quickly.

"Are you in love with me?" she asked.

"I...I care about you a great deal, Glinda. I think you're beautiful and fun to be with and..." he started.

"But are you in love with me?" she repeated, smiling sadly. He pondered the best way to respond and decided that the truth would be best.

"No," he said softly. "Are you in love with me?"

"I don't believe so," she replied truthfully.

"Friends then?" Fiyero asked, extending his hand to her.

"Friends," Glinda answered, placing her hand in his. "You really should go after her, you know."

"Go after whom?" he asked, though he knew the answer.

"A certain green-skinned roommate of mine. I think you'd be good for her," she answered.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"But if you hurt her, I may have to hurt you," she added, only half-kidding. He studied the petite blonde before him and burst out laughing.

"No offense, darling, but I don't think you could," he chuckled.

"Hey, I have a wand now, don't you forget," she reminded him.

"Yeah and when you first got it, you turned everything pink for a month," Fiyero grinned. "I still don't know how you managed to turn the entire cafeteria pink that one day."

"It got back to normal," she said defensively. "Eventually. And I haven't done that in months."

"No, now every time you try a spell you just get bubbles to come out," he said, his eyes twinkling. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What could you possibly do to me? Put me in a bubble?"

"Don't underestimate the bubble," she kidded. "Though, by Oz, traveling by bubble...what a fantastical idea! There's gotta be a way to do it – I'm sure I could figure it out." Fiyero laughed.

"Only you Glinda...only you," he said, with another grin. She looked at him and her expression softened.

"But really Fiyero – go after her. Elphie deserves some happiness and I think you could provide it," she said seriously.

"How's she doing today?" he asked.

"As good as she gets these days...if only she'd get some sleep," Glinda said without thinking about it.

"She's not sleeping?"

Glinda closed her eyes briefly. Elphaba had made her promise not to tell anyone her troubles with sleeping. She didn't want anyone worrying about her more than they already were. Glinda hadn't wanted to keep the secret, but finally had agreed. Though now looking at the look of concern on Fiyero's face, she wondered if her roommate had been right.

"Glinda?" Fiyero pressed.

"She hasn't slept soundly since the first night after her attack, okay? She gets horrible nightmares," Glinda told him slowly.

"She needs her sleep," he said.

"I know that, Fiyero, but she can't," she said. "The nightmares are really bad so she just stays up until she can't anymore."

"Well I may have to do something about that," he said getting up.

"Oh for Oz's sake, just what can you possible do?" she asked, alarmed.

"Don't you worry about that. I'll figure something out," he answered. "Right now I have to find your roommate."

"You can't make her sleep, you know. Fiyero? Fiyero! Are you ignoring me?" she called after him. In response he lifted his arm and waved. "Oh...for goodness sake. Men," she muttered. She huffed for a moment and then studied her notebook. "I wonder if it really could be possible to travel by bubble," she pondered to herself and immediately started drawing up plans.

_Meanwhile_

Far on the other side of campus, another couple stood in a much more heated discussion. Only the woman in question was much older than the young man she was arguing with.

"I told you just to attack her!" the woman snarled. "I never told you to rape her!"

"I'm sorry Mother, but once I was there in the moment, I couldn't resist. She was already helpless and I had been waiting for her all night, just to help with our plan. I figured, hey I may as well have some fun while I'm at it. And it was fun," the young man said with an evil grin. The woman smacked him.

"You disgust me," she said.

"Oh that's rich coming from you! Who was it that wanted to have this girl attacked in the first place? And why was that exactly? To further your own twisted agenda for me?" he snapped back.

"I have sacrificed to give you everything. The best education, the best clothes, the best. Period. I have suffered and worked without stopping to give you opportunities most people never get. Once our plan is complete, you will have everything. Everything! Don't you see? You will have absolute control! We can rid Oz of all those blasted Animals – just think of what we'll be able to do," she cried.

"So why attack the green girl? Don't you trust my abilities, Mother? I have powers too..." he started.

"Yours are nowhere near as powerful as hers! We had to get her out of the picture so you could have your chance. Darling, just think of it. Once our plan is complete, we will be unstoppable!" she exclaimed. He slowly grinned.

"You're right Mother, I'm sorry," he laughed, a slow and evil laugh. "The people of Oz better prepare themselves. Once we reach our goal, we will turn Oz into the thing it always should have been. And those who get in our way will have to suffer the consequences – and they will be great."

"That's my boy," she said, patting his cheek with her hand.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing.**

**Author's Note: Not much of a note this time. Lots of Fiyeraba coming up in this and the next chapter. As far as Glinda is concerned - things aren't exactly what they seem. I know things are sort of dragging at the moment, but trust me - things should start getting very interesting. At least that's what I'm going for. For now, here's some Fiyeraba.**

* * *

Fiyero marched his way over to Elphaba and Glinda's dorm room. People waved at him on his way but he ignored them all, not stopping until he reached their door. 

"Elphaba, are you in there?" he called, knocking.

"Yeah, hang on," she answered. He waited a second and the door opened.

"I need to talk with you," he said, firmly.

"About what?" she asked.

"Are you sleeping?"

"Not now," she said, dryly.

"I didn't mean right this second. I mean in general, are you sleeping?" he asked again, studying her.

"I...of course, I'm sleeping. How many times are you all going to ask me that?" she said, not meeting his eyes.

"Until we get the truth – which I got from Glinda," he replied.

"I told her not to say anything," Elphaba muttered, annoyed.

"Why?" was the soft reply.

"Look, you all have been great and I know everyone's worried about me. I didn't see any reason to worry you further. It's not a big deal," she lied.

"What about the nightmares?" he pressed. "They've got to be pretty bad if they're keeping you up all night."

"Everyone gets nightmares, Fiyero," she said quietly.

"Yes, but not everyone has been through what you have. Maybe you should talk to someone – " he started.

"I'm not going to talk to someone I don't know. And besides I talk about it with you guys sometimes, except for Boq that is," she countered.

"Elphaba," he said gently. "I'm worried about you."

"Join the club," she paused. "Fiyero, I appreciate the concern but you shouldn't be so caught up with me. You should be going out with Glinda and doing...whatever it is you guys do when you go out."

"Glinda and I aren't together anymore," he informed her.

"What happened?" she asked, confused. "I thought everything was okay with you two."

"We care about each other and all that but...we're not right for each other," he said matter-of-factly.

"Is she okay?" Elphaba asked.

"Sure. She was the one who brought it up," he assured her.

"That means nothing. Fiyero...Glinda's a lot more sensitive than you might think and she tends to be lonely. Ever since I got...well you know, she's felt like she's had to be stronger, but she's still the same girl. And I bet she's a lot more upset than she let on," Elphaba said.

"She seemed okay," he said, though he sounded less sure of himself. "She...I...wait...we were talking about you."

"Yes, I know. That's all we ever talk about these days," she said. "I'll be okay. I always am."

"Well, you need some sleep and tonight you're getting it," he told her. "And I know because I'm going to be staying over here to make sure you do."

"Oh now really, Fiyero, there's no need. Besides wouldn't that be awkward considering Glinda stays here?" Elphaba argued.

"Maybe, but we're just going to have to deal with that," he said.

"And just where do you plan on sleeping?" she wanted to know.

"On the floor," he replied.

"I'm not going to change your mind am I?" she groaned.

"Nope," he grinned. "Besides it might be fun...roomie." Elphaba studied him doubtfully.

'_This should be an interesting_ _evening'_ she thought.

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**Coming up: Elphaba and Fiyero are going to have an interesting night together, Glinda has a problem and the addition of a new character makes everyone wonder who the good and bad people are. How's Frex going to react when he hears of Elphaba's attack? What'll happen when Elphaba finds herself face to face with her attacker? And how does the Wizard play into all of this? Stay tuned guys, because there's a whole lot of twists and turns coming. ;-)**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's Note: You know, this chapter was going to be the Fiyeraba 'sleepover' chapter but after reading the reviews for the last chapter, I got an idea in my head for a scene with Glinda and Boq. I wanted to sort of develop their friendship and maybe give a little insight into what's going on with Glinda. Things are not resolved for her and she'll have issues of her own later on, but hopefully this'll help set that up when it comes. And I figured that it was time for Boq to get a little more of a part, especially since he'll be more important later. So I hope everyone enjoys this little scene and that it didn't move too quickly. Finally, thank you everyone for reading it and for all the reviews. I really am interested to see what everyone as to say and like having the chance to know what needs to be worked on, to grow as a writer. So please keep them coming.

* * *

Boq was enjoying a walk around the grounds of Shiz, happy to be free of Nessa for a little while. It wasn't that he didn't like her, but she could be a little tiring on her best days and every now and then he needed a break. She was currently in class and he had a free period so he had taken the opportunity to get some fresh air. He rounded a corner and crashed right into something – or rather, someone, knocking all their things to the ground. 

"Oof!" he mumbled. "Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention." He looked up and found himself looking at Glinda.

"That's okay, Boq, neither was I," she assured him.

"Here, let me get your things for you," he said, stooping down to gather her papers. "Wow – did you draw all of these?"

"Oh yes. That's my current new project," she said proudly.

"But Glinda, this look like a giant bubble of some sort," he said, confused.

"Exactly! Who says you have to walk everywhere? I envision a world full of people traveling in new style – in the air!" she exclaimed.

"Wouldn't that be dangerous? I mean, what if two bubbles crash into each other?" he asked.

"Hmm…well, maybe I should just worry about figuring out how to make myself travel by bubble first," she pondered. He got up to his feet and handed her the papers.

"Are you alright, Glinda?" he asked.

"Well of course I'm alright," she answered. "Why would you think otherwise?"

"Just wondering. Everyone's been a little different since, well…you know," he said softly.

"Yes," Glinda said. "I think we've all maturified since the incident."

"But, you're sure you're alright?" he pressed. She smiled, though Boq couldn't help but wonder if it was forced.

"I told you, yes. I'm fine," she said.

"Well if you want someone to talk to and you know, Fiyero's not around…" Boq started

"Me and Fiyero are no longer an item," she informed him.

"Oh?" Boq tried to contain his shock but found it difficult.

"We're not suited for each other and he loves my roommate. We're still friends though," she added, meeting his eyes briefly.

"I…Glinda, are you sure you're alright with this? You two were together for a while…"

"Oh Boq. He's in love with Elphie and would be good for her. She's been through so much, you know? She deserves to be happy and if he's the one to make that happen, well…then he should. She's my best friend, I want her happy," Glinda said, forcing another smile.

"Yes, but what about you?" he asked gently.

"I…okay…maybe it stings a little, but what was I supposed to say? Oh Fiyero, I know you don't love me and are in love with my roommate, but please stay with me?" Glinda sighed. "How could I stand in the way of something that could be beautiful? And besides…if I were to be truthful, I don't love him. Not as anything more than a friend. Maybe it stung a little, but…"

"I wonder…ever since the…incident, Nessa has been clingier than usual. Elphaba has been trying to convince everyone that she's okay and you seem to be putting on a brave front for her. I know we're all worried about Elphaba, but Glinda…that doesn't mean you have to ignore how you're feeling," Boq said, briefly squeezing her hand. Glinda let out another sigh.

"Okay yes, I am hurting a little big, but I will be okay. I know it's for the best," she said finally.

"Well, I'm here for you if you ever need me," he said.

"Thank you, that's very sweet of you," she smiled – this one, genuine. "So what were you up too when we crashed into each other?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Just taking a walk around campus. Nessa has class and I needed some fresh air. Would…would you care to join me?" he asked.

"Why not? A walk with a friend may be just what I need," she answered. He offered her his arm, which she took with another smile.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: I had this written when I wrote chapter 7 yesterday but decided to wait to post it because I wasn't so sure anyone would want a really long chapter with a ton of Fiyeraba in it. ;-)

I'm annoyed with myself because I did have this chapter posted and noticed some typos I had missed (some pretty bad ones at that), so I deleted it to edit it some. Which of course meant that my previous note was deleted too since I didn't have that saved. Like I said, this chapter is a pretty long one and it gets a little dark and disturbing in parts of it. Elphaba has a nightmare (no shock there, I'm sure) and it was hard to write, partly because I'm worried that it's not very clear what's going on. I hope it makes sense. Part of the dream involves Nessa getting a locket with a picture of their mom in it - whether this type of gift would exist in a place like Oz, I have no idea, but go with it. Another thing - the bathroom Elphaba and Glinda use is a dorm bathroom with multiple stalls and whatnot. I hadn't thought about that until I noticed I had Glinda go into the bathroom while Elphaba was still in it and that that'd be odd, so now it's a dorm bathroom.

Added comment: Actually, going through and editing some more stuff ended up being a good thing for the Fiyeraba fans out there. I added a little more of them - it's a little fluffy, but hopefully cute. Let me know what you think. :-)

* * *

"Fiyero, this really isn't necessary," Elphaba tried again as Fiyero tried to figure out where he was going to sleep. 

"So you've said. About five hundred times," he said with a half-grin. "I'm staying and there's nothing much you can do about it."

"Fine," she sighed in defeat, looking up as Glinda entered the room.

"Hi guys," Glinda said quietly. There was an awkward silence as Fiyero and Glinda looked first at each other, then at random spots on the floor.

"I knew this was going to be weird," Elphaba muttered.

"We discussed this at dinner," Fiyero countered. It was true. Elphaba and Fiyero had gone to the dining hall to eat and had been joined by first Nessa, and then Glinda and Boq. Fiyero had brought up his idea, which had caused both Boq and Elphaba to study Glinda waiting for her reaction. Glinda had hesitated at first but then had agreed that it may be a good idea and she'd do her best to not make it awkward.

"Yeah, but –" Elphaba started.

"No, Elphie, Fiyero's right. Maybe it is a little odd but if having him here helps you sleep, then it'll be worth it. You haven't slept in weeks," Glinda cut in. Elphaba flopped down onto her bed, shaking her head.

"This whole thing is absurd. How is having him here going to help?" she asked, for maybe the 50th time.

"I don't know. He's...well...he's a prince..." Glinda started lamely. Elphaba raised her eyebrow. "You have to admit it does feel a little safer with him here..."

"It felt safe before," Elphaba argued.

"Well, yes but...it's Fiyero. He may not have much of a brain but when he puts himself up to doing something you can't talk him out of doing it," Glinda shrugged.

"Isn't that the truth," Elphaba agreed.

"Um, hello? Has anything noticed that the 'him' you're talking about is sitting right here?" Fiyero interjected. "I'm starting to feel insulted." He pouted. Elphaba and Glinda exchanged a grin.

"Well you are kind of stubborn, you know," Elphaba said.

"And kind of stupid," Glinda added.

"Tough room," he muttered.

"Then stay in your own," Elphaba said sweetly.

"Nice try, but no. I'll just have to put up with your abuse," he sniffed. Elphaba chuckled and then gathered up the things she needed to get ready for bed.

"It really is sweet of you to stay here...I think she does feel better with you around," Glinda said softly.

"She has a funny way of showing it," Fiyero muttered. He looked at Glinda for a few seconds. "This is a little weird, isn't it?"

"Hold the little," Glinda said, but she softened it with a smile. She gathered up her things to take to the bathroom while Fiyero put the finishing touches on his makeshift bed, which was situated at the foot of Elphaba's bed.

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About an hour or so later, Glinda was sleeping peacefully in her bed and even Elphaba had tried to go to sleep. Fiyero had waited until her eyes stayed closed and then bunked down for the night.

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_Elphaba had been young when her mother had died and the pain of losing her had been such that it seemed she constantly cried. She was in her room, once more crying over her loss when her father stormed in._

"_Would you stop your incessant crying? You're not the only one who's grieving," Frex said harshly._

"_I miss mama," she cried, sinking to her knees. _

"_It's your fault she died! You have no right to be upset. You ruined everything! All I ever wanted was to spend my life loving your mother and having perfect children with her. Then you came along, this disgusting green...creature! You were the reason I made your mother eat those flowers – I was not going to have another freak of a child. And you know what those flowers did – they killed your mother. They deformed your sister. It would have been better if you had never been born," his angry tirade had utterly stunned her and broken her heart at the same time. "That's it! Stop crying, I can't take it anymore." He roughly jerked her up to her feet and given her a good shaking._

"_Father you're hurting me!" she screamed._

"_Shut up!" he yelled. It was then that he had hit her for the first time. He let go of her instantly, almost as if he couldn't believe what he'd done. He slowly backed out of the room in horror..._

Elphaba tossed and turned fitfully in her sleep as her nightmare continued.

_Nessarose wheeled her way into Elphaba's room. "Oh Elphaba, look!" It had been Nessa's 15th birthday and Frex had presented her with a beautiful locket. Inside lay a picture of Melena. Nessa had passed it to Elphaba who studied it, once more feeling the familiar sting of tears. _

"_It's lovely," Elphaba managed._

"_Will you fasten it for me?" Nessa asked._

"_Of course," Elphaba said. She just finished putting it on her when their father had come in. _

"_Like your locket, Nessarose?" he asked, warmly._

"_Oh Father, it's beautiful! Thank you so much," Nessa had cried. _

"_You've been the bright spot of my life, Nessarose. When everything else has been horrible," he paused to look over at Elphaba, "you've been my little angel." _

"_I love you Father," Nessa smiled before wheeling her way out._

"_That was a very nice gift of you to give Nessa," Elphaba said. He turned on her slowly._

"_Your sister is so beautiful, just like her mother. Pity I can't say that about both her daughters," he laughed bitterly._

"_Father –" she started. _

"_You have been nothing but a curse from the day you were born. Nessa may be deformed because of you, but one day she will grow up and marry her pick of the young men who will no doubt fall in love with her charm and beauty. You on the other hand...no one is ever going to love you. No one is ever going to want to be with something as horrible as you, you're barely human. You are worthless," he said, shaking his head in disgust._

"_Please Father, what did I do to make you hate me so much?" she given up on tears by then, knowing what they caused. But she hadn't been able to stay silent about his abuse any longer._

"_You killed your mother. You caused your sister to be the way she is," he answered._

"_But I can't help the way I am," she had cried. He then raised his hand back and slapped her..._

Elphaba whimpered in her sleep as memory after memory of her father's treatment of her flooded her dream, making the nightmare worse with each passing second.

_She hadn't seen his face; it had been hidden in darkness. She still remembered his eyes – his cold eyes devoid of any human emotion. She had fought so hard and it hadn't mattered. When he had finished he leaned over her and roughly pulled her up a sitting position. "You are worthless," he had laughed. She pushed away and tried to get away, only to find herself being stopped by someone else. Her father. He laughed at her agony._

"_I always told you no one would ever want you. No one would ever love you. I'd say you finally got what you deserved," _

"_Father...help me..." He roughly shoved her back to her attacker, who promptly shoved her down again._

"_You didn't think I was going to let you get away just yet did you?" his sneer was pure and complete evil. She screamed for someone to help her, her screams getting louder and louder..._

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Her first scream had woken both Fiyero and Glinda up instantly. Fiyero sprang to his feet and to her side. "Elphaba! Elphaba, wake up. You're having a nightmare," he said. She was struggling against some sort of invisible adversary in her sleep, still screaming. "Elphaba, come on honey, wake up," Fiyero coaxed. He lightly placed his hands on her arms to try and steady her.

"No!" she screamed, pushing at him while she sat up. She was starting to wake up, but still clearly in the midst of her nightmare. "Let me go!" She punched at Fiyero, making solid contact a few times. He continued saying her name until finally her eyes popped open. "Someone help me!" She looked around wildly, still confused about where she was.

"Elphaba...Elphaba! It's me, it's Fiyero – you're safe. Elphie," he cradled her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him.

"Fiyero..." she cried weakly. "Help me!"

"It was just a dream, you're okay," he said soothingly.

"It was so real!" she gasped, finally collapsing against him and giving way to her tears. Fiyero exchanged a look with Glinda who had gotten out of bed and looked on the verge of tears herself. He held Elphaba close, though it was hardly necessary as she had a death grip on him.

"I'll get some water," Glinda offered weakly, heading towards the bathroom.

"Why does every man in my life want to hurt me?" Elphaba whimpered.

"Elphie..." Fiyero started. "I..."

"Don't let go, please Fiyero," she said, tightening her grip.

"I'm right here, honey..." he gently stroked her hair with one hand. "It's okay now." Glinda made her way out of the bathroom with a cup of cold water and knelt down on the floor by Elphaba. "Here, honey, Glinda has some water for you," Fiyero said softly. Elphaba looked over to Glinda, who offered her a half-smile.

"Here Elphie...it's nice and cold," Glinda said soothingly. Elphaba leaned away from Fiyero and took the cup in a shaky hand, nearly spilling it as she brought it to her lips and took a sip. "There you go,"

"Thank you," Elphaba managed.

"You're safe, Elphie, we're not going to let anything – or anyone - hurt you. I promise," Glinda said. She paused for a moment. "That was a bad one, huh?" she asked lamely.

"It was so real...I kept seeing my father..." Elphaba shuddered. Glinda nodded in understanding, remembering a long ago conversation with Elphaba about her father.

"Your father?" Fiyero asked, confused. He regretted the question as a look of pain swept across Elphaba's features. She took a deep breath.

"He always blamed me for my mother's death. I was green and that was not acceptable to him. So he made my mother eat milk flowers when she was pregnant with Nessa. She had so many of them...she hated them – she only did it because he was so adamant about not having another freak for a child. Those flowers made Nessa the way she is and they killed my mother..." she began.

"That wasn't your fault," Fiyero said quietly.

"Not in my father's eyes. He blames me entirely...he's always treated Nessa so wonderfully and he always hated me," Elphaba cried, softly now.

"Oh honey, I doubt that's true," Fiyero said, wiping at her tears with his hand. She shook her head.

"You don't understand. My father became violent after my mother died. He was so angry about losing her, about me. It was my fault his life was no longer perfect. He turned his anger on me..." she said. Glinda let out a soft gasp – Elphaba had never told her about the physical abuse.

"Oh Elphie, he didn't..." she started.

"He hits me, he always has. Only when it rains...see, the rain makes him remember and when he remembers, he drinks. And when he drinks, he hits," Elphaba said bitterly.

"What about Nessa?" Glinda asked.

"He would never lay a finger on his precious Nessa. She has no idea about the abuse or the drinking...it's better that way," Elphaba said. "In his eyes, I am a worthless, ugly curse. I should have never been born," she snorted. "I bet he'd be happy if he knew I had been raped. Probably say it was my fault...just like everything else."

"Oh Elphie," Glinda said sadly, brushing a strand of hair out of Elphaba's eyes. "You are not worthless. He has no right to treat you so badly."

"Glinda's right. Your father is a heartless monster from the sounds on it, and he must be pretty blind to miss out on a daughter as special as you are," Fiyero said.

"There's nothing special about me," Elphaba argued quietly.

"Oh no? What about the way you take care of your sister? Or the way you care so much about the Animals? About Doctor Dillamond? What about how smart you are?" Fiyero countered. "Elphaba, you are amazing."

"What good is any of that, Fiyero? My father still hates me...none of that helped me from getting attacked!" she exclaimed.

"Those things were not your fault," Fiyero said firmly.

"I don't want to hurt anymore," Elphaba said brokenly. "It doesn't matter what I do...people still hurt me."

"Elphaba..." Fiyero started, choosing instead to pull her close once more. He took the cup and handed it back to Glinda. "They may have hurt you, honey, but that wasn't your fault," he repeated. "And you have us now and we care about you."

"Yeah, he's right. We're here for you, Elphie, no matter what," Glinda chimed in. Elphaba offered Glinda a weak smile.

"I don't know what I did to deserve such good friends," Elphaba said softly, her eyes welling up with fresh tears.

"You want to know what you did?" Fiyero asked her. "You were Elphaba. Don't you understand? We care about you simply because you're you. And I think I speak for both of us when I say that we wouldn't have you any other way."

"I know we got off to a bad start," Glinda started.

"A bad start? Glinda, we hated each other!" Elphaba exclaimed. "Loathed, even."

"Maybe in the beginning, but look at us now. Elphie, you're my best friend," Glinda said, reaching for her hand.

"Thank you," Elphaba said. "Both of you."

"Now...that was beautiful. I think I need a tissue," Fiyero said, hoping to lighten up the moment a little.

"You okay?" Glinda asked her friend.

"I think so...go back to sleep," Elphaba answered.

"Yeah, I'll stay up with her," Fiyero said. "Get some rest."

"Okay. Good night," Glinda said, giving Elphaba's hand another squeeze and smiled briefly at them.

"Good night...sorry for waking you up," Elphaba said. Glinda waved the latter part of the comment off and climbed back into back.

"You know...you have a pretty strong right arm," Fiyero said. "You got some good swings in there."

"Sorry," Elphaba winced.

"It's okay...I'm tough," he assured her.

"I'm sorry for getting my tears all over you," she said softly, a minute later.

"That's okay - it needed washing anyway," he teased her. She couldn't help but smile.

"How do you do that?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"I just had maybe the worst nightmare of my life and you figure out a way to make me smile," she answered.

"It's a gift really," he said. His tone grew more serious. "Elphaba?"

"Hmm?" she murmured, comforted simply by being in his arms.

"You don't have to apologize to me," he said.

Neither one said anything for a little while. Fiyero simply held her close and kept stroking her hair. She finally let out a yawn. "I think it's time for you to try and sleep," he said.

"I'm not so sure I want to try," she said. Fiyero took note of how tired her voice sounded.

"You need some rest," he said gently. He gently eased her away and waited for her to lay back down again. She grabbed his hand before he could move.

"Stay with me," she pleaded. "I...I can't believe I'm even saying this, but...I feel safer when I know you're with me."

"I wasn't going anywhere," he assured her. "Get some sleep."

"I don't think I can fall back asleep," she said.

"Well then, scoot over," he said matter-of-factly. "Go on, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Well I know that..." she studied him for a moment and then scooted over so he could lay down next to her.

"Now come here," he said, gathering her back in his arms. "I want you to close your eyes and try to relax. I'm going to stay here until you fall asleep and I'll be here when you wake up. Any nightmare wants to get to you; they've got to go through me first," he said, gently stroking her hair again. "When I was a little boy and couldn't get to sleep, my mother used to come into my room and sit next to my bed and hum. No song in particular, she would just hum whatever melody came to mind. I always felt safe when she was there; surely nothing bad could come and interrupt my mother's humming. That probably sounds silly."

"No, it sounds sweet," she said, smiling. "Does this mean you're going to hum for me?"

"Oh sure, go ahead and ruin the rest of my introduction," he ruffled her hair. "It was going to be a good one too."

"You can continue if you like," she said, enjoying the light banter between them.

"No, no, it won't have the same impact as it would have. No point saying it now," he mocked annoyance.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she stifled a giggle.

"I'll live," once again he started stroking her hair, sensing that the action soothed her. "Now, are you comfortable?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now. Go to sleep," he said and began humming a soft melody. It wasn't one that she'd heard before but it was beautiful. She found herself starting to relax as she snuggled up closer to him.

"Thank you...Yero," she yawned. She had said his whole name, but the Fi had gotten lost in her yawn. He smiled to himself as she finally fell into the most peaceful sleep she had had in weeks.

"Good night, Elphie," he whispered, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head. He stayed up a while longer, still humming, until he was sure that she wasn't going to wake up until the morning. He then rested his head against hers and let himself drift off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**Author's Note: This chapter is a bit of filler. See I know exactly where this story is going and have several chapters written in my head for it, but the tough part is getting from point A to point B and I've been blocked. I had to introduce this new character, or rather not a new character, but one who needed a name. So this isn't one of the best chapters, but hopefully still worth reading. Thanks again for all the comments and all the constructive criticism. I definitely take everything into consideration when writing this. So in light of that, I have 2 chapters coming up and the thing about it is that they can go in any order. So I'm giving you guys a choice here. What would you like to see next? A little Boq and Nessa interaction/conflict or do you want to get to know our villian a little bit more?**

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"Ready?" Fiyero studied Elphaba who stood next to him at the entrance to one of their classes. She had decided it was time to start going to class again. 

"It's just class," she answered. "I'm fine, really."

"You sure?" he asked. "People know and they'll be talking about it."

"Gee, I can't imagine what it's like to have everyone talk about me," she teased. "Look who you're talking to." He cocked his head to the side.

"True, but..." he started.

"Fiyero, it's just class. I have to get back sometime," she said softly. "Besides we're in the same classes. What's anyone going to do with you around?"

"Well you have a point there," he grinned. "After all...I am a prince." He added in his best Glinda impression. She giggled.

"Come on," she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the classroom with her. Elphaba made her way to her normal seat and got the books she needed out for the class. The teacher strode into the room a minute later and called the class to attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to announce a new student. His name is Malun Terzak and he comes from Gillikin," he announced. Fiyero took in this new student. He had short dark blonde hair and dark brown eyes – so dark they were almost black. He couldn't put his finger on it but there was something about this guy he just didn't like. He watched Malun take his seat and wink in Elphaba's direction on his way. Fiyero frowned and glanced at Elphaba who had gone pale.

"Elphie?" Fiyero asked. She ignored him and raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Thropp?" the teacher asked.

"May I please be excused? I don't feel well," she stammered. The teacher nodded his approval and she practically ran out of the classroom. Fiyero exchanged a glance with Glinda who looked equally puzzled.

"Professor? May I go see if she is alright?" Fiyero asked.

"Very well, but make it quick if you don't mind," was the answer. Fiyero jumped to his feet and took off after her.

"Elphaba?" he called, making his way down the hallway and outside. He found her walking towards her dorm and he ran to catch up with her. "Elphie, wait!" He finally reached her and was surprised to find that she looked terrified. "What's wrong?"

"It's him! He's here...at Shiz," she cried.

"Who?" Fiyero asked, confused.

"The new student? Malun whatever? It's him. I'd know those eyes anywhere..." she watched the realization make its way through Fiyero's face.

"That's the person who attacked you?" he asked and she nodded, looking around her as if she expected someone to come out and grab her. "Well then if you'll excuse me."

"Where are you going?"

"Where do you think I'm going? That guy thinks he can attack you and get away with it? I don't think so," he said, calmly. Too calmly.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, grabbing for his arm. "You can't just tear in there and –"

"And tear him apart? Why not? After what he did to you?" he asked, angrily.

"Fiyero please...you'd only get in trouble," she argued.

"So what? I always get in trouble," he pointed out.

"But fighting is strictly against the rules, what if you got expelled?"

"Who cares if I get expelled? Elphie, what he did to you is unforgivable. He needs to pay for it. And if I get expelled then at least I'd know I did something about it," he said, starting to leave.

"No! You can't risk it. I...I need you here. If you got expelled, who'd..." she started but was unable to stop due to tears that were now rolling down her cheeks.

"Elphie..." he said softly. "Please don't cry."

"Don't go back in there...please," she pleaded.

"But –" he started.

"Oh Fiyero, it's so sweet that you want to go after him but I couldn't manage here without you," she whispered. He took her in his arms.

"We can't let him get away with what he did, don't you know that? He might come after you again or someone else. If nothing else, will you go with me to see Madame Morrible and explain the situation? I don't want him around you," he said.

"Why do you care so much about me?" she asked.

"Haven't we gone over this before? I care about you because you're my friend Elphie," he answered. "You mean so much to me and I don't want anyone or anything hurting you again." She looked up at him.

"Fiyero..." she said softly. She noted how close they were, how his face was just inches away from hers. He looked deep into her eyes, so deeply she could've sworn he was looking into her soul.

"Elphie," he murmured, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes and for a second she thought he might kiss her. For a second she wanted him to. But she pulled back, fresh tears in her eyes.

"I can't...not yet," she said, her voice breaking. He held her gaze for a few seconds longer and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Take as much time as you need. But remember I'm here. Waiting," he said, cupping her cheek with his hand. She leaned into it for a split second and pulled away completely.

"I...I should go back to my room and get some rest," she stammered. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay." She gave him one more look and turned back towards her dorm, feeling his eyes watching her. She swiped a hand under her eyes and willed herself to stop crying. But the tears wouldn't stop.

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**Coming up in this story: a chat between Malun and his mother and problems with Nessa and Boq. Frex is about to make a visit to Shiz to see his daughters and it's not going to be pretty. If you don't hate Frex yet, hopefully you will after this visit. And what about Fiyero and Elphaba? He seems to be quite smitten with her but is she going to be able to overcome what happened to her and give in to her feelings? There's an insane amount of twists and turns coming, so stay tuned.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Author's Note: I wrote both this and the next chapter at the same time and got a vote for each. I was eager to get the story continued so I decided to go with Nessa/Boq/Glinda, but not to worry since the chapter about Malun is going to be posted right after. This chapter ended up being more about Nessa. I didn't plan it that way but I** **think it's good to get a little insight on Nessa. I'm curious to see what you all think. Thanks! **

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Boq was caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. His feelings for Glinda were increasing all the time but he still found himself in a relationship with Nessa. He sighed as he saw Nessa wheel her way up to him. 

"Oh Boq, there you are! I've been looking all over for you," she said happily.

"Nessa...I think we need to have a talk," he said, slowly. She frowned.

"About what?"

"Us. Nessa, is this...am I..." he paused, trying to collect his thoughts. He found a bench nearby and sat down on it. "What are your feelings about us?" he asked finally.

"Well Boq, I should think that would be obvious. We're perfect for each other. I love you," she said.

"But..." he started.

"But? What's wrong? I thought everything was going fine," she asked, her lip trembling.

"Oh Nessa, it's just that things have been so confusing lately..." he trailed off.

"I know things have been difficult, but that's why we have to stick together," she grabbed his hand. "You could be better suited for you than me?"

"Glinda," Boq said. Nessa's jaw dropped, but then Boq pointed. She turned and saw Glinda walking towards them, looking worried. "Glinda, what's wrong?"

"I just ran into Fiyero. Remember that new kid in class today?" she asked.

"Yes. What about him?" Boq asked, puzzled.

"There's a new student at Shiz?" Nessa piped up. She had been in a different class at that time.

"Yes...I don't remember his name. I think it started with an N? Or was it an M?" Glinda pondered to herself as she sat next to Boq. "In any event, that's not important."

"Glinda? What is it about this person that has you so worried?" Nessa asked.

"Elphie recognized him...he's the person who attacked her," Glinda whispered. Nessa gasped.

"Here? At Shiz?" Nessa asked, grabbing for Boq's hand. Glinda nodded.

"Elphie is terribly upset. Fiyero wants her to talk to Madame Morrible, but she left him without promising anything. I have a bad feeling about this," Glinda sighed. "What if he goes after Elphie again?"

"That won't happen," Boq said firmly.

"He got to her before! Oh Boq, what if he hurts my sister?" Nessa cried.

"We'll convince Elphaba to talk to Madame Morrible and see what she can do. In the meantime, we'll be able to keep Elphaba safe. Besides now that Fiyero knows what he looks like, do you think he'll let this new guy get close to her?" Boq pointed out.

"But he couldn't help her before," Nessa said, tightening her grip on his hand.

"That was before we even knew he existed. Fiyero's not going to let anything hurt Elphaba," Boq assured her.

"He cares about her too much," Glinda said as a brief look of sadness passed across her features. Boq put his other hand on her shoulder, causing Glinda to look at him. "It's true after all."

"We all care about Elphaba. Between the four of us, she will be okay. We'll all be okay," Boq said, holding Glinda's gaze. Nessa frowned as she watched this exchange. Why in Oz's name was Boq looking at Glinda like that? Nessa gave Boq a slight tug.

"We all will be okay, right? I know we're worried mainly about Elphaba, as we should be, but what about the rest of us?" she asked.

"That monster is not going to get his hands on any of you. He'd have to go through me and Fiyero to do that and that will not happen. It'll be okay, Nessa," Boq said gently. "Now you have a class to get to. Don't worry. We'll come up with a way to convince Elphaba to talk to Madame Morrible. Surely when the headmistress hears about this, she'll have to do something about it. Everything is going to be fine." Nessa nodded.

"I hope you're right," she said. Boq turned his focus back to Glinda.

"How about we go find Fiyero?" he asked. Glinda nodded and the pair stood up. "We'll see you later on, alright Nessa?"

"Alright," Nessa said. Glinda gave her a little wave, which she returned, and then Boq and Glinda went off in search of Boq. Nessa watched them go.

'_Why did he seem too eager to head off with Glinda right this second to find Fiyero? He usually takes me to class.' _Nessa pondered to herself. She let out a sigh. She had finally been able to catch the boy of her dreams, thanks to Glinda, and now it seemed like she was losing him. It wasn't fair! It was bad enough that she had to spend her days stuck in a wheelchair. She had had to watch all the other kids running around and playing with each other growing up. Always watching, never able to participate. There were so many things that she would never do. Sometimes she got so mad at Elphaba – sure she was green, but at least she could walk. And she had magical powers. What did Nessa have? A wheelchair. A stupid, old wheelchair. Nessa chided herself. It was hardly Elphaba's fault that she was confined to a chair. It was all just so frustrating.

Things had been so boring, one day blending into the other, hoping that someday someone might see past her chair. Then Glinda had worked her magic and Boq had asked her out! From that point on, the Munchkin boy had been hers and she truly meant it when she had told him she thought they were perfect for each other. They were. He was so kind and sweet and she loved him dearly. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him. But their earlier conversation...that look shared with Glinda. When was the last time he told her he loved her? Nessa's frown deepened and she started wheeling herself to class. Glinda was a good friend and she cared about her, but Nessa would not lose her boyfriend to her. She would fight if necessary. She let out another sigh.

Maybe she was just imagining things. Maybe the look shared between Boq and Glinda was nothing more than friendship, maybe she was getting herself worked up for nothing. Boq had been distant lately, yes, but things had been so hard. Hadn't they all changed? Sooner or later he'd go back to the way he was and everything would be fine. Maybe later Nessa and Boq would have a good laugh over her silly worries.

And if not, if something was indeed going on that would cost her Boq, then she was prepared to fight. Boq was hers and she was his and no one was going to get in the way of what they had. Not even a beautiful blonde named Glinda.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing.**

**Author's Note: Alright, as promised, here's a chapter about one of our villians, Malun. My hope is that after reading this, you all will absolutely hate him. More so than you do now. He's definitely not a nice guy and has a bunch of tricks up his sleeve. I mentioned it in the last chapter, but Nessa was not in the class when he was introduced so this is the first time she's seen him. He however has been told all about Elphaba's family beforehand, so he knew what to look for. I'm a little curious to see if anyone can figure out his name - it's actually really, really simple. **

**I'm going to set the stage a little bit for what's to come. One, we can't forget about Malun's mom can we? And who is she anyway? There's a whole other storyline involving that coming up to that's going to tie into a bigger one later on. The next chapter coming is provided for a little bit of comedic relief, though there will be other stuff going on. Fiyero and Boq decide the girls should learn some self-defense and well, things get very interesting. Nessa's about to get caught up in something she's not ready for. Fiyeraba fans are either going to like the chapter or want to kill me after it, I can pretty much promise that. I've been teasing everyone about Frex's visit to Shiz and that chapter is coming up right after the next one gets up. Thanks for reading and please keep any comments coming. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

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He hadn't counted on the rush of adrenaline that came over him once he laid eyes on her. He thought back to that night, the night when he found her outside of the library and smiled to himself. True, he hadn't been told to take it so far but he hadn't been able to help himself. It felt so good to see something he wanted and take it. When he heard of the plan for him to enroll at Shiz University, he had had his doubts. She'd recognize and report him and he'd be in trouble for sure. But after getting to that classroom and seeing the instant she realized who he was. It had been so powerful, like some sort of drug. He hadn't realized how much of a grip she had had on him. Sure, he had criticized the part of the plan that involved attacking her to his mother, knowing it annoyed her. The truth was he had been jumping at the bit to get a shot at her.

Before he could ponder that thought further, he spotted a girl in a wheelchair and instantly remembered being told that that was Elphaba's sister. What was her name? He searched his memory and finally remembered. Nessarose. He noticed that she had dropped something and smiled to himself. He jogged over to catch up to her, picking up the object she had dropped – a book.

"Excuse me, Miss?" he called. Nessarose stopped and wheeled herself around to look at him. "I'm sorry to bother you, but this fell out of your chair."

"Oh my goodness, thank you. I didn't even realize it had fallen out," she said, reaching for the book gratefully. She studied him. "I don't believe I've seen here around here before."

"Today's my first day and I must say it's a pleasure to meet someone as lovely as yourself," he said with a smile. She flushed and he held out his hand to her. "My name is Malun Terzak and I'm from Gillikin. And you are?"

"Nessarose Thropp," she said, shyly.

"As I said, it is a pleasure to meet you," he said, kissing her hand.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I really must be heading off to class. It was nice meeting you," she said.

"I hope we get a chance to get to know each other while we're both here at Shiz," he gave her another smile. "Have a nice day, Miss Nessarose." She flushed again and nodded, wheeling herself away. Malun chuckled to himself and headed back to his room.

Malun Terzak had been born to a wealthy family in Gillikin. He had gone to the best schools and his mother had sacrificed everything for him – so she constantly told him. He was a handsome boy with dark, mysterious eyes. He had never had a problem getting what he wanted and had shown signs of magical powers at an early age. The trouble was that they weren't as powerful as he would've liked. But Elphaba's were. She was everything he wanted and if he had her by his side, he would be unstoppable. He thought again to that night, her initial look of anger when he first disrupted her. A look that had quickly turned to fear. He remembered how hard she had fought against him and admired her strength.

Yes, he was indeed intrigued by Elphaba. There was something about her. All the women he came across were so weak, but she was different. Sure she hadn't been able to save herself, but the power of the struggle had made it so much more exciting for him. Once he had slammed her into the building and she had hit her head, it had been easy. And so much fun and enjoyable for him. He thought about the night constantly.

Yes, she was a threat to him. A threat to everything he and his mother had worked for. But he couldn't deny that the more he thought about her, the more he wanted her again. It had been so incredible to take her against his will, he could hardly imagine what it would be like to have her surrender herself to him.

Malun would go along with the plan, after all when all was said and done he would have everything he ever wanted. He would have complete control of Oz, he would rule over everyone and everything. No more pesky Animals getting in the way, no more of this silly equality nonsense. People would submit to his will or else. He was prepared to be as brutal as necessary. When all was said and done he would have Oz and he would have her. Yes, he would have her again. There would be a time when blood would be shed for the cause, her blood if she didn't cooperate. Elphaba Thropp would be his or she would suffer. No one would stand in the way of what he wanted.


	12. Chapter 12: Part 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing...well I guess I sort of own Malun and Smyrna if we're gonna be technical, but nothing else. **

**Author's Note: This is part one of a two part chapter. Why two parts and not two chapter? Because they sort of tie in together and I wanted 13 to be the chapter where Frex comes into play. Maybe that's a weird quirk of mine, but there you go. This chapter also got to the point where it was way too long to put in one posting. It would've been ridiculous so I just split it up. New character alert for this chapter. Note - I am well aware that Madame Morrible is out of character in this chapter. I think you guys can safely assume that she's up to something and is trying to cover it up. Reviews are definitely appreciated, I like to know what you guys think. :-) **

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Smyrna Terzak tried to calm down. One false move and everything would blow up in her face. She didn't consider herself a stupid woman, but she had put up with this sham of a marriage for far too long. She had been hopelessly in love with her husband in the beginning, so much so that she would've done anything for him. But he had never loved her, not really. She came from a wealthy family and had a pretty face and that was all he cared about. He was so big on appearances, always making sure to play the part of a doting husband in public, and then ignoring her the rest of the time. It wasn't even that he hated her; he didn't care enough to hate her. Over time that indifference had caused something in her to die, to shrivel away like it had never existed – her ability to love. Now she was a mere shell of the woman she had been and she was angry. Angry at him for not seeing how much she loved him, angry at him for not even trying to return her love. She had become so bitter in the past few years and it was all his fault. 

Smyrna took a deep breath. It would not do to lose control now, not when she had everything to gain. Things had looked so bleak until recently when she came across something that could change her life forever. She was so excited that she could hardly contain herself. Tomorrow she would march into her husband's office and demand that he see things her way. And if he didn't, she had an ace up her sleeve that could destroy everything he had ever worked for. After tomorrow her life would change, one way or another. After tomorrow there would be no turning back.

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"I don't think I can do this." Elphaba was pacing the hallway outside of Madame Morrible's office the day after seeing Malun. She had spent the remainder of the day before hiding out in her room.

"Why not? She needs to know so she can do something," Glinda urged her.

"This whole thing...I just want it to go away," Elphaba said.

"But Elphie, it's not going to go away. Not as long as he's here," Boq said gently. Elphaba spared him a look and kept pacing.

"Elphaba would you please stop, you're going to make a rut in the floor. And I'm getting tired of watching you walk back and forth," Glinda sighed.

"Then don't watch," Elphaba countered.

"Elphie," this time Fiyero spoke up. She ignored him. "Elphaba." He reached his arm out and caught her around the waist as she was walking past him, pulling her towards him.

"Hey!" she cried out, attempting to wriggle free.

"She's the headmistress. If a known rapist is on campus, she needs to do something about it. She can't have more of her students getting attacked, think of how it would sound if people heard a rapist was loose at Shiz. If nothing else, she'll want to protect the school's reputation," Fiyero said gently. She sighed.

"You're right."

"Of course I'm right. Now go march your green butt in there," he said. He frowned when she just stood there. "What are you waiting for?"

"You to let go of me so I can move."

"Oh. Right," he said sheepishly. He released his grip and she went over and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Elphaba opened the door and led the way in side. "Madame Morrible?" she called.

"Ah, Miss Thropp. I was just wondering how you were doing," Madame Morrible said.

"You were?" Elphaba asked.

"Why of course. I feel so terrible about what happened. Why, I can't even imaginate such a thing. You must have been so frightened and I'm sure it's been hard to deal with it. How are you doing?"

"Better now that I've been able to sleep," Elphaba said truthfully, glancing over at Fiyero. "But...well, I started attending classes yesterday and..."

"We have a new student at Shiz, Madame Morrible. As I'm sure you already know," Glinda spoke up. "A young man."

"Yes, a Mister Malun Terzak, is that it?" Madame Morrible asked, looking at a piece of parchment on her desk.

"That's him. I'm not sure how to say this..." Elphaba started.

"Sometimes it's best just to say things really quickly," the headmistress said gently.

"He's the man who attacked me," Elphaba said in a rush. "I would recognize those eyes anywhere." Madame Morrible gasped.

"This is most upsetting to hear. Miss Thropp, are you absolutely certain?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Well that is simply not acceptable! I will have to have a chat with Mister Terzak about the situation," Madame Morrible said angrily. "And if I find him to be who you say he is, I will have to take action. Though I warn you it may take a little while."

"Madame, I...we are all very worried about Elphaba's safety. And the safety of the other female students on campus. How can we be certain that they'll all be safe?" Fiyero asked.

"I can't make any promises..." she said sadly. "If he tries anything in the meantime, let me know about it. I'll get on this matter right away. Don't worry, Elphaba, if he is your attacker he will pay for what he's done. Now if you'll excuse me..."

The foursome left her office and Elphaba let out a sigh. "It could take a little while? What are we supposed to do in the meantime?"

"Well you can't hide out in your room all the time," Fiyero started. "And you won't let me kill him. I think it's time we teach you girls how to defend yourselves...just in case."


	13. Chapter 12: Part 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Author's Note: And here's part two of chapter 12, the self-defense lesson. This is the part where Fiyeraba fans may very well want to kill me, but we'll see. This is to lighten the mood up, so I hope y'all like it. Let me know what you think.**

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The foursome had decided to hold their lesson out by the lake. "Now remember – if you're being attacked, sometimes you have to take whatever opportunity presents itself," Fiyero said. He glanced at Glinda, who was facing him. "Now come on. Hit me with your best shot." She drew her fist back and barely made contact with him.

"You can do better than that, Glinda." Boq encouraged her.

"Yeah, come on. Really come at me," Fiyero coaxed.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Absolutely. Just give it everything you have."

"Well...okay," Glinda drew her fist back again and closed her eyes, swinging with all her might. Elphaba and Boq watched in amusement as her fist made solid contact with his face, nearly dropping him to the ground.

"There you go, Glinda. Now, you have him somewhat immobilized, but maybe you should get in another shot before he recovers," Boq said. "You don't want to give your attacker any time between blows."

"Yes but I'm not –" Fiyero started as Glinda plowed her fist into his stomach. "Great Oz..." He clutched at his stomach. "I think you have punching down," he muttered.

"So what, should I try kicking now?" she asked gleefully. She kicked at his shin causing him to hop up and down holding it. "This is fun."

"Glinda..." Fiyero started.

"Take that!" she cried, her foot making contact directly between his legs. Fiyero sank to the ground in pain.

"Glinda," he managed between clenched teeth. "Maybe you should work with Boq for a moment."

"Alright...I didn't hurt you, did I?" she asked sweetly.

"No...not at all," he growled. She giggled and moved over to Boq.

"I'll take it easy on you," she assured him.

"No! Give it to him, like you gave it to me." Fiyero protested, still on the ground. Elphaba went over to him.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Oh sure...I'm wonderful," he muttered.

"Guess you won't be doing much dancing through life for a while, huh?" she asked, unable to help herself.

"Very funny."

"You do realize you just got your butt kicked by a petite blonde, right?" she giggled. He glared at her. "I wouldn't try anything if I were you. Glinda's right over there."

"That's it," he got to his feet. She scrambled away.

"Now, Fiyero...don't make me call the pink princess over here to teach you another lesson," Elphaba teased.

"Run," he advised. She let out a shriek as he lunged at her. He chased her around the lake, finally catching her around the waist and sweeping her up in his arms.

"Oh no, Glinda help!" she managed between giggles as he stroke purposefully towards the water. "Don't even think about it!"

"Think about what?" he grinned, stepping out on the small pier. He swung her back and made like he was going to toss her in the water. "That?"

"Fiyero!" she squealed. "Put me down!"

"Okay," he agreed. She breathed a sigh of relief, and then screamed as she found herself being flung into the lake. She emerged, spitting water out of her mouth.

"Fiyero Tiggular!" she cried. He dissolved into laughter.

"That'll teach you to make fun of me." She scowled at him. "Here, I'll help you out," he said, squatting down and reaching out a hand. An evil smile came to her face as she grabbed his hand and tugged, pulling him into the water with her.

"That'll teach you to throw me in the lake," she grinned when he surfaced.

"All right, I guess I deserved that," he chuckled. He pulled himself up onto the pier and then reached down to help her up.

"You are so lucky it's warm out," she muttered, still shivering in spite of that.

"I wouldn't have tossed you in if it was cold," he assured her. He pulled her close, trying to warm her up some. "Better?"

"A little," she said softly. He gently moved her wet hair out of her face, a gesture he seemed to do a lot lately. Elphaba couldn't help but notice how careful he was when he did that and how soft his hands were. She also couldn't help but notice that lately her heartbeat picked up considerably when he was close. Her eyes met his and it felt as they were the only two people in Oz. It had only been yesterday when he had almost kissed her and she had meant it when she said she wasn't ready. Today, she still wasn't sure she was ready and doubted that she was, but it was like there was some sort of weird energy pulling her closer to him. She wasn't sure she could break away even if she wanted to. All she could focus on was how his lips were getting closer...and closer.

_Meanwhile_

Boq was helping Glinda fine-tune her technique. "You did a good job hitting Fiyero with that one punch, but that was mostly luck. Twist your body back a little and think about where you want your fist to hit me," he instructed. "Now swing back to the front and extend your arm as you go, making sure that you keep your elbow slightly bent."

Glinda paused before swinging back. "I don't want to hurt you..."

"That's what you told Fiyero," he smiled. "At least I know what to expect. Now come on, swing back with everything you have." Glinda nodded and swung her body back...maybe a little too enthusiastically as the momentum caused her to lose her balance. Boq flung his hands out to catch her. "Whoa...maybe I shouldn't have said with _everything_ you have," he teased her. He helped her steady herself and then took a step back, tripping on an upturned tree root and tumbling backwards taking Glinda with him.

_On the pier _

Elphaba closed her eyes, unable to resist the pull towards Fiyero and their lips were a mere hair away from making contact when they heard a shout.

"Boq! Glinda! What are you guys doing?" Elphaba jerked away at the sound of her sister's voice and turned towards Boq and Glinda who were sprawled on the ground, with Glinda directly on top of Boq.

"Uh-oh," Elphaba muttered. She got to her feet, followed by Fiyero and they made their way towards the rest of the group.

"Nessa! It isn't what it looks like, I promise," Boq cried. Glinda quickly rolled off of him and got up.

"Boq and Fiyero were just trying to teach me and Elphie how to defend ourselves..." Glinda started.

"And that explains you rolling around on top of my boyfriend?" Nessa demanded.

"That was an accident! He was trying to teach me how to punch and I guess I put a little too much into it. I lost my footing and Boq caught me, and then he tripped so we fell," Glinda explained, but Nessa was having none of it.

"How convenient," Nessa said icily. "You just _happened_ to lose your footing and he just _happened_ to catch you. And you just _happened_ to fall right on top of him. I thought you were my friend Glinda!"

"I am your friend, Nessa! I promise, this was an accident. You're overreacting..." Glinda started.

"Don't! I don't even want to hear what you have to say," Nessa spat out.

"Don't get mad at Glinda. Nessa, this is ridiculous. Nothing happened, I promise you," Boq said. "Come on, Nessa, you know both of us and Fiyero and Elphie are right over there. Do you really think that if something were going on that we'd try anything with your sister in sight?"

"They weren't paying attention when I came up," Nessa said, shaking her head.

"Nessa, please. You have to know I wouldn't try anything with your boyfriend," Glinda said.

"Do I, Glinda? I know all about your reputation, you're a bit legendary with some of the students here," Nessa said coldly. Glinda froze.

"Has it occurred to you that there may not be a grain of truth in any of those things people say about me? Or are you so quick to assume the worst?" Glinda asked with a laugh devoid of humor.

"Nessa, you're out of line. This was completely innocent and you have no right to speak to Glinda like that," Boq cut in.

"Oh sure, rush to her defense," Nessa said, but now it looked as if she was on the verge of tears. "Maybe it's best if I don't see either of you for a while."

"Nessa..." Boq started, but she waved him off and started wheeling away.

"Nessa! Hold on," Elphaba called. She sent an apologetic look towards Glinda and ran to catch up to her sister. The two sisters exchanged a few words that quickly became heated. Glinda and the others couldn't make out what either of them was saying, but it was clear both sisters were angry. Elphaba threw her hands up and started walking back towards the group, while Nessa furiously wheeled away.

"What happened?" Fiyero asked.

"She's being unreasonable," Elphaba sighed. "I'm sorry, Glinda. She gets upset so easily...I'm sure when she comes to her senses that she'll feel awful."

"It's not your fault Elphie," Glinda let out a sigh of her own and then finally seemed to notice that both Elphaba and Fiyero were soaking wet. "What in Oz happened to you two?"

"Fiyero threw me in the lake, so I pulled him in after me," Elphaba said, with a shrug. Glinda let out a short laugh.

"Come on, let's get you inside before you catch a cold," Glinda suggested.

"Good idea," Elphaba said. She smiled at Boq. "Don't worry Boq, Nessa will come around." She turned her focus to Fiyero and smiled briefly before following Glinda back to their dorm room.


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**Author's Note: I meant to have this up over the weekend but the site kept not letting me log in and yesterday was insanely busy. But I decided I better get this chapter posted since I'm going out of town on Thursday. Chapter 14 is done too, but I think I'm going to wait to post that one. So here we are, chapter 13...chapter 14 if you want to be technical about it, but I consider this 13. And as promised, Frex has shown up at Shiz. This scene was a little hard to write and you'll probably see why that is as you make your way through the chapter.**

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The skies were gray, a deep foreboding gray that hinted that a big storm was coming. The wind was howling and the temperature had dropped slightly. Elphaba shivered as she walked with Fiyero and Glinda to their class. The same class that Malun was in – Elphaba was going to have to see him sooner or later and thought it'd be best to get this over with. But knowing that didn't ease the sinking feeling in her stomach. 

"You okay, Elphie?" Glinda asked.

"As okay as I will be, I guess," Elphaba answered. She took a seat by the window and Fiyero sat on her other side. She noticed that Glinda sat right behind her and Boq occupied the seat right behind Fiyero. "Boxing me in, are we?"

"We want to keep him as far away from you as possible," Fiyero said and Elphaba smiled at him.

"Thank you." She could practically feel when Malun entered the classroom and soon found herself looking at him. He had moved to the front of the room to stake out a spot to sit. He gave her another wink and moved down the aisle separating her from the boys, taking the seat behind Glinda. Apparently he was trying to get as close to her as possible.

"Excuse me, are you Glinda Upland?" she heard him ask and she cringed.

"Yes," Glinda answered coldly, not even sparing him a glance.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Malun –" he started.

"I know who you are," she cut him off. He chuckled to himself, a slow evil kind of chuckle. Thankfully before he could say anything else, the teacher entered the room and class began. Elphaba had a hard time concentrating on the lesson knowing that he was a couple of seats behind her and regretting that he had bugged Glinda. As soon as the class ended, Elphaba gathered up her things and headed for the door. Fiyero got to his feet, prepared to follow her but was called to stay behind by the teacher. He cursed under his breath.

"We'll stay with her," Boq assured him, grabbing her bag and following Elphaba out, Glinda right on his heels. Malun gave Fiyero a cocky grin and headed for the door.

Malun spotted the trio immediately and made his way up to them. "Um excuse me, I don't think we've been formerly introduced," he sneered at Elphaba.

"I have no interest in talking with you," she said, trying to ignore the fear that had crept into her spine at his nearness.

"Actually none of us has any interest in talking with you, so if you'll excuse us," Boq said, glaring at Malun. Boq nudged the girls ahead and followed them out, keeping an eye on Malun.

"I will have you again, my dear," Malun said to himself as he watched Elphaba and the others walk away. He started to follow them but found himself being slammed against the wall by Fiyero.

"Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I promised Elphaba I wouldn't kill you because she doesn't want me to get expelled and so far I've been able to keep that promise," Fiyero growled at him. "But if you do anything, try anything, I will bury you. You want to get to her; you have to go through me. And the only way you get past me is over my dead body. Do we have an understanding here?"

"Gentlemen, is there a problem?" The teacher had stepped out of his classroom and was eyeing the two boys. Fiyero let go of Malun, giving him a final glare, and then turned towards the teacher.

"No problem here, Professor," he said.

"Then I suggest you be on your way," the teacher said pointedly. Fiyero nodded and made his way out of the building. "Mister Terzak?"

"Professor?" Malun asked.

"We don't tolerate troublemakers here at Shiz. I don't care who your father is, I will not have any improper behavior in or out of my classroom. Is that clear?" the teacher asked him.

"Yes, sir," Malun said, barely able to keep from rolling his eyes.

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Elphaba was heading for her dormitory, having assured Glinda and Boq that she would be okay. She just needed some time to process her thoughts. It had started to rain when she was halfway to the dorm and Elphaba couldn't help but feel another shiver of fear pass through her. She looked behind her and noted that she was not being followed. She shook her head. Seeing Malun must have gotten her emotions all stirred up again, she guessed. She jogged the rest of the way to her dorm, relieved to finally get out of the rain. She started for the stairs to get to her second-story dorm room and let out a gasp. Nessa and Frex were waiting for her.

"Father," she managed. "What are you doing here?"

"I wrote to Father about your incident. I was so certain he'd want to know so he could be here for you," Nessa said. Elphaba glanced at her, wondering how in Oz Nessa didn't see how much her father loathed her.

"I was so sorry to hear about this, Elphaba," Frex spoke up. Elphaba raised an eyebrow at him, assuming that he had actually come to visit his precious Nessarose.

"Are you?" Elphaba asked.

"Elphaba, I know that we don't have the best relationship, but you are still my daughter. It pains me that someone would hurt you so," he said. Elphaba stifled a snort, not fooled by this show of caring. "How are you doing?"

"Well let's see. I just ran into the person who attacked me and you show up unannounced. How do you think I'm doing?" she asked sarcastically.

"Elphaba! How dare you speak to Father like that. He didn't have to come all this way to see how you were," Nessa said.

"It's all right, Nessarose. Your sister has her reasons for being suspicious." Frex took a step towards Elphaba. "I really would like to start over, Elphaba. I'll do whatever I can to see that the person who hurt you is removed from Shiz." Elphaba eyed him warily. "Nessarose, why don't you go along to your class? I think I need to have a talk with your sister."

"All right Father," Nessa agreed. "You'll visit me before you go, right?"

"Of course, I will," Frex said warmly. He waved her out and then gestured towards Elphaba's bag. "I'll take that for you," he said. Elphaba shook her head and headed up towards her room. When they reached the top of the stairs, she turned to him.

"Father...it really means a lot to me that you came...even if it was just to see Nessa," she said. After all, maybe her father was serious. Maybe he did feel bad. She met his eyes. "And thank you for –"

Before she could continue, Frex drew his hand back and slapped her. "How dare you?" he growled. Elphaba gaped at him.

"Father –" she tried again, but was silenced by another slap.

"How could you do this? How could you go and get yourself raped knowing the shame it would bring to our family name? Knowing the way it would cause your sister to worry about you?" he asked.

"But Father, it wasn't my fault!" she exclaimed. He grabbed her wrists and shook her.

"You have been nothing but a disgrace since the day you were born! First you have the nerve to come out in that disgusting color and now you've all but spat on our family name." He shoved her down to the floor. "I never should've let you live. I should have killed you and been done with it. Then at least you wouldn't be around to make your sister suffer! I might still have a wife!" He was yelling now, a sure sign that he had been drinking some. He brought his foot back and kicked her in the ribs causing her to yelp in pain. "I can't even believe someone would want to have you at all!" Another kick.

"Someone help me!" she cried out, earning her another kick and then he grabbed her up by her hair.

"Shut up! No one cares enough to help you," he hissed at her. He eyed the staircase, a crazed look in his eyes. "Maybe I didn't kill you when you were born, but I could do it now. End the misery once and for all." She slammed her elbow into his knee, trying to get him to release his grip. It worked – but only for a second. He slammed his foot into her side again. "You can't get away from me." He tried dragging her to the steps again.

"Help!" she screamed, fighting against him.

_Meanwhile_

Fiyero couldn't explain it but it felt like something was wrong. "Elphaba," he said to himself, overcome by a sense that she was in danger. He picked up his pace suddenly desperate to find her. It was probably nothing, odds were that when he found her that she'd be fine and they would probably have a laugh over his worrying. He almost slowed down, but deep in his gut he knew he had to find her. The rain was pouring now and it made him break out into a run. He rounded a corner and nearly knocked over Boq and Glinda – Boq holding an umbrella to try and keep them dry.

"Fiyero!" Glinda exclaimed.

"Do either of you know where Elphaba is?" he asked them, not even bothering to apologize.

"She was heading back to the dorm," Glinda said puzzled. "We saw her most of the way there and then decided to go to the library to study. What's the matter?"

"Something's wrong, I can feel it," Fiyero said grimly. "We need to find her." Glinda started to argue with him, but something in his eyes made the words stop in her throat. "I'm going to go to your dorm. You guys keep an eye out for her okay?" He barely waited for them to nod before continuing on his way towards Glinda and Elphaba's dormitory. He was getting close now, he could see the building in the distance. He spotted Nessa up ahead and ran to her. "Nessa!" She stopped, barely able to keep her grip on her umbrella in the wind.

"Fiyero! What is it?" she asked.

"Have you seen your sister?" he asked.

"Well yes, I just left her," Nessa replied, clearly confused as to why he seemed so panicked.

"Was she okay?"

"Of course she was okay! Our father's come to visit us and I left her with him..." Nessa kept talking but Fiyero's mind flashed back to a conversation he had had with Elphaba the first night he had stayed with her in her dorm room...

"_He hits me, he always has. Only when it rains...see, the rain makes him remember and when he remembers, he drinks. And when he drinks, he hits," Elphaba said bitterly._

"Elphaba," he whispered, taking off towards her dorm. "Hold on, sweetie, I'm coming."

"Fiyero? Fiyero!" he heard Nessa call him, but he ignored her and kept running as fast as he could.

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In Elphaba's dormitory, the struggle continued. Elphaba had so far been able to keep away from the top of the stairs but her father was relentless. "You have been nothing but a miserable curse on this family! It's time the curse ended!" Frex screamed. He dragged her to her feet and kept one hand on her hair, the other in a fierce grip on her arm. "Say goodbye, Elphaba," he hissed in her ear, swinging her back and flinging her over the top step.


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.**

**Author's Note: Wow! I can't believe the responses I got to my last chapter - so awesome since that's what I was going for. Thanks so much for all the reviews and for making the last chapter my most reviewed chapter! I was going to wait until I got back home to post the next chapter (out of town still) but I thought, you know...the ending of the last chapter was a little mean - though a little fun too, especially seeing the reactions, lol. I happen to have my dad's laptop on this trip and the thumb drive (at least that's what I've heard it called) with me and chapter 14 has been done for a while now. So I thought I'd go ahead and post it up for you. Definitely keep the reviews coming, I love reading them. Hope y'all like this chapter.**

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Elphaba screamed and braced herself for the sickening impact. But instead of hitting the wooden steps she felt herself crash into something else. Or rather, someone else. 

"It's okay," she heard a familiar voice whisper in her ear. "I have you."

"Fiyero," she whispered. She clung onto him for dear life. "Fiyero." She whispered his name again, unable to believe that he was holding her. A violent shudder went through her and she realized what would've happened if he hadn't gotten to her.

"It's okay," he repeated. "I'm not going to let you fall." He helped her shift until she had her feet properly under her. She still clung to him, terrified to let go. She was shaking so badly that Fiyero managed to pick her up and carry her back up the steps. Each floor of the dormitory had a small living area with a couple of chairs, a couch and a table. He set her down on the couch and then slowly turned to face Frex, positioning himself directly in front of Elphaba.

"So you're the piece of crap that is Elphaba's father," Fiyero said, glaring at him.

"And you are?" Frex sneered, clearly angry at Fiyero's interference.

"I'm the man who's in love with your daughter," Fiyero answered coolly. Frex's jaw dropped.

"You have got to me kidding me," Frex spat at him. "No one could love her, she has no soul."

"I believe the person you're referring to is yourself," Fiyero shot back.

"How dare you –" Frex started.

"Excuse me? How dare I imply you don't have a soul? Well let me think about that. Your wife gives birth to an amazing little girl and you get so caught up on her skin color that you become obsessed with making sure your next child comes out normally. So you force your wife to eat milk flowers. A move that cost your wife her life and left your second child a cripple," Fiyero started.

"None of those things were my fault. You think I wanted to lose my wife! To have a child confined in a wheelchair? I loved my wife and I love my Nessarose. I would never intentionally harm them! I did what I had to do..." Frex started.

"You would never intentionally harm them!? You more or less murdered your wife and for what? To not have another green child? You were willing to sacrifice the woman you claim to have loved and your unborn child for some stupid obsession you had. You are pathetic,' Fiyero growled.

"You miserable..." Frex tried again.

"What's wrong? Don't like people seeing you for what you are? You're lucky that I don't tear you apart right here," Fiyero said. "What, it wasn't enough that you've made Elphaba's life miserable, you had to try and kill her too?"

"That...thing has been a problem since the day she was born. Everything was fine until she showed up!" Frex yelled.

"She was a baby! Your flesh and blood. How could you not see her for what she was – a miracle," Fiyero fired back. Frex laughed.

"A miracle? That creature? What kind of miracle looks like that?" Frex jabbed a finger towards her. "I should never have let her live past that first day! That freak cost me the woman I loved."

"You don't even know what love is," Fiyero said softly. "If you did, you would never treat her how you do!"

"I didn't have a choice. She deserved everything she got," Frex growled.

"No, she didn't," Fiyero shook his head. "She deserved better. Better than you, better than the life she got. She is amazing. She's one of the smartest students here at Shiz, maybe even the smartest. She is passionate about the things that she cares about. She has an incredible soul and an even more incredible heart. And I think she's the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on." Frex let out a mean laugh.

"That freak?"

"Again, I think the person you're referring to is yourself," Fiyero said, taking a step closer to him. "I want you to listen and listen carefully. You don't deserve a daughter as wonderful as she is. You don't even deserve to be considered human. You are heartless and cruel and so help me, you touch her again and I will break every single bone in your body."

"You dare to threaten me? I'm the governor of Munchkinland!" Frex cried. Fiyero raised an eyebrow.

"And I'm a Winkie Prince," Fiyero grinned. "You can't touch me or my father, the King, would have your head. Now as far as your daughter is concerned, you will keep your distance. You will not speak to her, you will not lay a finger on her, and she will not be returning to your home when the school year is over with. I will make sure of that. Now if I were you, I would get out of here before I change my mind and decide to throw _you_ down the steps." Frex curled his upper lip at him and took a step towards Elphaba. Fiyero stepped closer to him, a look of pure steel in his eyes that showed Frex that he had meant every word of his threat. Frex scowled and made his way down the stairs before Fiyero had a chance to do anything. Fiyero watched until he had left the building and then turned to Elphaba who was gaping at him. "Elphie...are you okay?" He took note of the bruises already coloring her face and how she held one arm protectively around her middle.

"You..." she let out a disbelieving laugh. "You just saved me and stood up to my father on my behalf."

"Yeah well..." he started, but stopped when she held a finger up.

"Did you mean what you said?" she asked.

"I meant all of it," he answered.

"Even..." she took a breath, unable to voice the question in her head. "The first part?"

"When I asked if he was the piece of crap who was your father? Yes," he said.

"No...the part where you said you loved me," she whispered. He walked to her and knelt down in front of her. He took her hands in his and kissed them.

"Elphaba..." he started, but she shook her head.

"Don't say you do if you're only saying that because you feel sorry for me." She looked so vulnerable that he wanted to sweep her in his arms and never let her go.

"Oh Elphaba, my feelings for you started that day with the Lion cub," he said truthfully. "Maybe it took you getting hurt for me to realize what it was that I felt for you, but none of this is out of pity or anything like that. Look at me." He gently took hold of her chin until her eyes met his. "I did mean what I said. I love you, Elphaba."

"No one's ever said that to me before," she whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks. "My mother maybe but that was so long ago..."

"Then let me say it again: I love you," he gently kissed away the tears first on one cheek and then the other, and then looked her straight in the eye. "I love you."

"Oh Fiyero," she said softly. She cradled his face in her hands and studied him for a moment. The pull from the day by the lake was back and this time she didn't wait for a chance to be interrupted or to lose her nerve. She shyly brushed her lips against his in chaste kiss. "Yero, my hero."

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**Come on, you guys didn't really think I was gonna let her crash did you? ;)**


	16. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: I've been writing like crazy tonight. I didn't think I'd get another chapter of this up for a while but ended up writing this. What's funny about this chapter is that I thought I knew what I was going to write, but in sitting down and writing it, I got pulled in a completely different direction. Nessa is probably going to seem very weird in this chapter and that is intentional. They'll be some clues at the end as to what's going on, but I just wanted to note that I'm writing her this way on purpose. Something is up with her and eventually everyone will find out what it is. I know it's been a long time and I'm hoping I'll be able to update more often from now on. Thanks for all the support on the other chapters. As always I like knowing what people think, so please keep the reviews coming. Hope you guys like this one.**

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"What in Oz was Fiyero's problem?" Nessa thought out loud to herself. "Oh!" she let out a cry as her umbrella was whipped out of her hand by the wind. "Oh great!" She muttered a curse and started trying to turn her wheelchair around to find it, but it proved to be too difficult. 

"I believe you dropped something miss," a voice said. She looked to her side and spotted Malun Terzak standing before her holding her umbrella. "Why is it every time we come across each other, I'm handing you back something you've dropped?"

"Guess we're just lucky that way. Thank you," she said with a smile.

"Here. Let me help you get inside out of this rain." Before she could protest he had grabbed hold of her wheelchair and wheeled her into the nearest building. "A pretty thing like you shouldn't be out in weather like this."

"That's very sweet of you," she said shyly. Malun was such a sweet person to help her in from the rain. As they chatted for a few minutes she found herself more and more drawn to him. In the past five minutes, he had been more concerned and interested in her than her boyfriend. She felt a twinge of guilt for having these feelings, but Boq seemed to be forever running around on Glinda's arm. It would serve him right if Nessa became interested in someone else.

"I was wondering, my sweet Nessarose, if you might like to accompany me to dinner this evening," he was saying.

"That sounds lovely," she said with a smile.

"Hey! Get away from her!" another voice called. Nessa turned her head to find a soaked and angry Boq coming down the hallway towards them, Glinda at his heels. Nessa rolled her eyes. No surprises there. "Nessa, come on. You shouldn't be talking to this guy," Boq said upon reaching them.

"I'll talk to whomever I please, thank you," she said coldly.

"Nessa, you don't know who this is! This is the man who raped Elphaba!" Glinda cried. Nessa felt the blood drain from her face. She turned towards Malun, who looked horrified.

"Is that true?" she whispered.

"Of course not! I would never do such a thing...such a vile, cruel act. I could never!" Malun protested.

"You liar!" Glinda exclaimed.

"Nessarose...you must believe me. I don't know why she's saying this, but it's not true. I promise you," Malun went on.

"I don't believe you," Nessa said.

"Nessarose..." Malun started but she held up her hand.

"Not you." Nessa turned her gaze to Glinda. "I can't believe you would have the audacity to come in here with _my _boyfriend and accuse sweet Malun of raping my sister."

"What?" Glinda asked, stunned. "He did! Nessa, he is lying to you."

"I'm supposed to believe you? After the way you've been hanging around my boyfriend trying to steal him away from me?"

"Nessa, I mean this is the nicest possible way but you are out of your mind!" Glinda snapped. "I don't know why you've suddenly decided to turn psycho and lash out at me, but I'm sick of it. You know me better than that!"

"Oh so I'm crazy? I'm not blind, Glinda! I see how you look at him," Nessa said, glaring at her.

"I was the one who set you up in the first place! Or did you already forget?"

"No, I remember. Back when you had Fiyero. You had no use for Boq then, so why not set him up with me? But now that Fiyero has become interested in my sister, you've set your sights on Boq."

"Nessa, stop it. You are absolutely insane! I can't take it anymore. You used to be so sweet, but lately you've been downright rude. You have no grounds for any of your accusations and I don't appreciate you talking to Glinda that way."

"Of course you don't. You don't want anyone insulting your little blonde floozy! Well you know what Boq? You can have her. I'll just as well spend time with someone who actually is interested in me," Nessa said, with a glance at Malun.

"Nessa, Malun is dangerous. He raped your sister and now he's trying to make you believe he's a good guy. It's all a game he's playing. Now come on," Boq tried.

"No! I can't believe that he's all the things you say he is," Nessa said, an odd look in her eyes. Glinda studied her. Something was different about her. Something about her eyes. This was not the girl that Glinda had been friends with.

"Nessa, what is wrong with you?" she asked. "You've not been yourself. I'm worried about you." Nessa let out a humorless laugh.

"I've had enough of you two. You can have each other. Malun, can you please take me out of here?" Nessa asked him.

"Nessa, no!" Boq cried. Malun grabbed hold of her wheelchair.

"Come on Nessarose. I'll show you how a beautiful lady should be treated," Malun said smoothly.

"Nessa!" Boq made a move towards her but she glared at him.

"Stay away from me. I'll do whatever I want," she said. Glinda couldn't help but notice another odd look in her eyes as Malun started to wheel her away. As he pushed her, he looked back at Glinda and Boq and shot them an evil smile.

"What is wrong with her? We can't leave her alone with him!" Boq cried.

"She's not herself," Glinda said.

"Clearly," Boq agreed.

"Boq...I can't put my finger on it, but I can't shake the feeling that whatever's going on with her isn't her fault," Glinda said softly.

"What?" he looked at her. "What makes you say that?"

"Something about her eyes...I can't describe it, but something's wrong with her eyes. I think we better keep an eye on her," Glinda said. "But in the meantime, we have to find Elphaba."

"But Nessa..." Boq started towards the door Malun and Nessa had left out of.

"Is terribly upset and angry with both of us right now. I don't like her being with him anymore than you do, but he seems to have a strange hold over her." Glinda cut in. "She won't listen to us. We need to get Elphaba to talk to her, and right now we don't even know if Elphaba is okay."

"I don't like leaving Nessa with that monster," Boq sighed.

"Me either. Oh Boq...what's going on? So much has already happened and I can't help thinking that the worst is yet to come," Glinda said, worried. Boq wrapped his arms around her. "Boq, I'm scared."

"Me too," he admitted. "But whatever happens, we'll have each other. And we'll have Fiyero and Elphaba and maybe...hopefully...Nessa again someday. If we all stick together, we'll all be fine."


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: I can't believe it's been almost a year since I updated! I kind of lost my vision for this story and wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. I'm still a little lost with it. I know where I want to end up but am still not sure about how to get there. I decided to write a new chapter and try to figure it out. Thanks to anyone who ever took the time to read and especially to review. As always, constructive criticism is welcome. If anyone has any ideas about where this is going or suggestions in terms of the actual plot, let me know. I think this is easily the weakest chapter of this story so far, I warn you now. Hopefully it's not too bad. This is kind of a weird filler to get this (hopefully) moving again. **

**Disclaimer: A year later and I still own nothing. Imagine that.**

* * *

"Thank you for helping me out of there" Nessa said gratefully as Malun pushed her wheelchair over to the dining hall.

"You're very welcome, Nessarose. I'm sorry that your friends upset you so much," Malun said gently.

"I think that I should be the one who apologizes here," Nessa started. Malun smirked to himself and let out a gasp for her benefit.

"Now why would you say such a thing?" he asked her, already knowing what the answer would be.

"The things they accused you of...I have no idea why they would say things like that about you." she said. "It's so clear to me that you would never do anything so horrible."

"I appreciate your confidence in me. I'm so happy that you believed me instead of their lies. But I don't think it is entirely their fault," Malun began.

"How can you say that? They came at you out of nowhere and just started attacking you!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, that is true, but I would imagine they must be under a terrible strain. After all, a friend of theirs was attacked and they are angry and maybe even a bit overprotective. They probably worry about you now as well, and seeing them talking to some new student they don't know must have been upsetting for them." he paused as if collecting his thoughts. "And it must have caused Boq quite a shock to see someone else taking an interest in his girlfriend. Not that he deserves a beautiful girl like you," he finished. He snuck a look at her and was pleased to see that she blushed at his last comment. He grinned to himself. _'Things are moving along quite nicely' _he thought.

* * *

Boq and Glinda decided to head to Glinda and Elphaba's dormitory to see if maybe Fiyero had found Elphaba there. They climbed the steps and were both surprised and relieved to see both Elphaba and Fiyero sitting on the couch together.

"Elphie! You're all right!" Glinda exclaimed happily. Her smile faded, however, when she took in Elphaba's appearance. "Goodness what happened?" Elphaba opened her mouth to explain but the words wouldn't come. Fiyero nodded to himself and decided to explain the situation for her. Glinda and Boq listened in horror as Fiyero recounted the whole story to them.

"Oh Elphaba, I am so sorry," Boq said sadly. Glinda didn't say a word, just reached up and brushed a couple of tears of her cheeks. Elphaba nodded.

"Are you okay Elphie?" Glinda asked, breaking the silence. She took in all the bruises on her friend's face and winced. "Physically speaking, I mean."

"I'll be okay. I don't think any of the injuries are serious, though..." Elphaba started and trailed off. Fiyero looked at her.

"Though what?" he asked concerned.

"Well my stomach hurts...my ribs actually," she said. "Probably just bruised."

"We should take you to get checked out just to make sure." Fiyero decided.

"I think that would be wise," Boq said.

"I'll take you," Fiyero offered. Elphaba nodded and slowly managed to stand up with his assistance. It was then that Glinda stepped forward and reached her hands out to her friend.

"I don't know why all of these things are happening, Elphie. But they will get better. You'll see," Glinda paused. "And no matter what else happens, whether it's good or bad, you will always have all of us."

"That's right Elphaba. No matter what else happens," Boq said with a nod. Elphaba smiled, even as a couple of new tears fell from her eyes.

"Thank you," she said softly. "I don't know what I'd do without you all. And Nessa of course." At the mention of Nessarose, Boq and Glinda glanced at each other. A look that did not go unnoticed by either Fiyero or Elphaba. "What?" Elphaba asked.

"I don't know if I should say anything..." Boq started.

"About what?" Elphaba asked, concerned now. "Did something happen to Nessa?"

"Well...earlier me and Boq were looking for you and we ran into Nessa who was...well...she was talking to Malun," Glinda said slowly. Elphaba's eyes widened at that news and she shook her head.

"About what?" she asked again. "What could she possibly be talking to him for? Doesn't she know who he is?"

"We tried to tell her but..." Boq started, looking at Glinda.

"But she didn't believe us. She got terribly upset at seeing me and Boq together and she just wouldn't listen to anything we had to say," Glinda sighed. "She seemed quite charmed by Malun and asked him to take her away from us."

"And you let him take her with him?" Elphaba asked, anger briefly flashing in her eyes.

"She didn't give us much choice. She...she wasn't acting like herself," Boq said.

"Something didn't seem right with her Elphie. Her eyes didn't seem the same. I don't know how to explain it, but something's not right," Glinda shook her head.

"What is going on here? That...that monster attacks me for no reason and then shows up as a new student here. Now he's going after my sister!" Elphaba cried.

"I'm sorry Elphie. We should've followed them but we were worried about you..." Glinda trailed off. Elphaba waved her off and shook her head.

"I know how Nessa can be when she gets in one of her moods. I just...I don't understand!" Elphaba took a deep breath to calm herself down and winced at the pain in her ribs as she did so.

"We can figure out what we're going to do about Nessa later," Fiyero decided. "Right now we need to get you checked out."

"Fiyero's right, Elphie. We'll try and find Nessa and make sure she's okay," Glinda assured her. Elphaba nodded.

"We'll talk more about all of this when we get back," Fiyero said as he put an arm around Elphaba and they turned toward the steps. "You two check up on Nessa and make sure she's okay for now," he added. Boq positioned himself on Elphaba's other side, offering more support as they made their way down the steps with Glinda right behind them.

"Don't worry Elphaba. We'll get everything sorted out," Boq said.

"That's right," Glinda agreed. The group reached the bottom of the stairs and both Boq and Glinda gave Elphaba a gentle hug before Fiyero led her outside.

"We'll meet you two back here," Fiyero said over his shoulder. Glinda and Boq watched the two of them walk away.

"Remember what you said earlier?" Boq asked. "About thinking that the worst was yet to come?"

"Yes," she said sadly, looking over at him. He was silent for a moment and then turned to meet her eyes.

"I think you're right," he put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him.


End file.
